No Regrets
by HellYus
Summary: After vanishing for two months, Orihime returns to a broken Ichigo with a huge problem. They've been together for over a year, still in school, but can they handle what's coming their way? Ichihime fic.
1. Our Moments

_**No Regrets**_

Chapter 1: Our Moments

The weeks went by, slowing as the numbers increased. Ichigo couldn't ignore that the girl he loved was missing.

School days became torture sessions, staring at her empty seat with no focus on the lesson. It was too much to handle.

Most nights, the young Substitute Shinigami found himself crying into his pillow. All traces of her reiatsu, her scent, they had disappeared from his room.

Had he done something to upset her? There were so many questions and curiosities about the mystery, Orihime Inoue had vanished from Karukura Town.

Not even Uryu could follow her reiatsu very far, it was as if she covered it up. Like she'd run away...

But it made no sense! Ichigo couldn't get over it that easily, this was no ordinary girl.

This was the girl that he had risked his life several times to protect, who had gained her own powers by just contact with him, the girl who was so important, the girl who he loved with all of his heart.

Now she was gone. No words of goodbye, no explanation

Half of him wanted to run the whole Earth in search of her, the other just wanted to her be safe and happy. But what did happiness matter? It was merely impossible that she could be anything close to happy if she had to run away to do it.

To think, recently their relationship together had been so much more exciting, adventurous and colourful than ever before. Ichigo had enjoyed every single moment with her one thousand times more with each day that passed. She was like a goddess, one of the only remaining things that really mattered to him.

The same question popped up in his head again and again, where could she possibly have gone? Then why?

It was like a nightmare, not having her there beside him. Not even the memories could calm him.

Every time he only remembered the heart-breaking sight of her empty seat. If only he could see the most amazing parts again, when she'd spend most of the evening in his room, they'd talk for hours on end about whatever they were thinking of. That never got boring,

Of course, there were the other nights they couldn't ever really forget, alone together in her apartment...

Those times were what he wanted back again, he wanted to hold her in his arms, to kiss her and see the familiar blush appear on her cheeks. Just what were the chances that he'd ever have that again?

With a sigh, he lay back on his bed. If only...the light would spark again. Then as he thought that, a most treasured memory came back, the first time...

"_Keep your eyes closed, no peeking!"._

"_Awh, but I'm so tempted!" her angelic voice murmured. The blindfold tied around her head fully prevented her from sussing out the surprise or any essence of it._

"_Hang on...you can look soon," he promised. His hands were on her shoulders, guiding her through the house, almost reaching the destination._

"_Are we there yet?" she inquired to some adorable extent. Ichigo opened the door and stepped in front of her, chuckling at her pout. He reached to pull the blindfold away, revealing to her the secret at last._

"_Surprise..."._

_Orihime's eyes became a little wide with her shock to the sight before her. All around Ichigo's bedroom were candles and rose petals, only an accessory to the blanket and picnic basket set in the middle of the floor._

"_Wow..." she whispered, awe-struck as Ichi took her hand and led her to the blanket. They sat cross-leged, facing each other. He couldn't help but fall helpless to her gorgeous eyes, the light of the candle flames glistening in their surface. _

"_It's a special occasion!" Ichigo smiled, "Most teenage couples barley last a month," he laughed. Their one year anniversary had come much more quickly than they could ever have imagined, but the whole time had been just another wonderful experience._

"_Well, most teenage girls don't love their boyfriends like I do," she bounced forward, wrapping her arms around him. There were slight tears in her eyes, since falling in love with Ichigo those years ago, every sense of romance had an emotional impact._

"_In that case I can promise that nobody else could ever love you like I do, it's just not possible," he slid his arms around her waist, closing his eyes to enjoy the embrace._

_When they let go, Orihime sat back as Ichigo started to pull out a bowl from the basket. He set it onto the blanket and took off the cloth covering the top._

"_Strawberries?" she laughed, peering inside._

"_Of course," he grinned, picking up one of the small berries, leaning over and placing it in her mouth. It was just like in a movie, she smiled before feeding him the same way. This little passing game lasted until the bowl was empty._

_They sat back, slumped against Ichigo's bed. He looked over to her. Orihime was one hundred percent content, closed eyes combined with the smile that curved in her mouth._

_He moved his hand above hers and curled his fingers around it, smiling as she looked back at him. Before any words could be said, he reached over and picked her up, cradle-fashion. She giggled in pitches ripping through several octaves, putting her arms around him again._

_Ichigo smirked before capturing her lips, locking his focus to her, nothing could distract him during moments like these. Many seconds passed before he felt strong enough to pull away, they both exhaled through their noses and continued to dive deeper into the moment._

_As Orihime began to lean back, with him following, until she was lay down on the floor with Ichigo knelt above her. His elbows rested firmly on the ground, his fists grasping the blanket as their kiss gradually got more intense._

_Now a more elegant blush painted the 17-year old girls cheek, her eyes barely open to see the man she loved in front of her._

_Then he moved up to her forehead, planting another kiss there before she stopped to breathe. Orihime hesitantly asked a questions before anything else happened, "So your family isn't here?" her words were quick, careful not to spoil anything._

"_Nope, they'll be out for a few more hours..."._

_With that she placed her hands at the sides of his cheeks and pulled his face back in to continue. Few more moments passed before she let go, quickly and bravely beginning to open the buttons of his shirt. It was half unexpected, at least for Orihime to be the one to turn the whole thing in another direction._

_However it made no difference, because both of them wanted it._

_Next moment, his shirt was off and they were working on Orihime's. The blouse opened easily and she shrugged it off, before putting her arms back around his neck. Remaining clothes were all shed one by one until they both got up to their feet._

_A line of moonlight leaked in through a gap in the curtains, shining right between the two, stood facing each other. Their cautious smiles were excited and scared at the same time, ready for whatever was next._

"_The first time..." Orihime whispered, pressing her head forward to Ichigo's chest._

"_Hmm?" he brushed back the hair from her face, holding her jaw and pointing her head back up to face his, so that she could answer._

"_This is the first time..." she said a little louder, looking into his eyes. He smiled before leaning down to kiss her again..._

Now he was angry, remembering had just made everything more painful.

He couldn't believe how much he missed it, just to touch her, to be near her. The joyful aura that surrounded here, if only it were here now, that could always make him feel better no matter what.

It was already too late, Ichigo's mind unravelled and twisted in the memory of her. He wanted to be mad at her for leaving like that, but there was not a single part of him that wanted hatrid of her.

The only thing left was desire.

As the last few of his tears were shed, he turned off the lights and drifted into sleep.

After some time, his eyes flickered open. Ichigo jolted out of bed, barely awake. The alarm had been the impatient knocking at the door.

Before he went to answer, he waited for a noise. His family were probably down there already, but then he saw the clock.

It read at four thirty in the morning, who could possibly be at that door? Now it was clearer, he could see the darkness outside his window.

As he stumbled downstairs, he began to hope it wasn't some joke, maybe Keigo. That would not end well for him. At all.

Then the knocking stopped. Just what was going on? He swung the door open, wide-eyed at what he saw.

Ichigo's breathing slowed down a lot, he stayed silent and fell to his knees. Still, he said nothing, he only reached out and grabbed the pale hand of the dead Orihime Inoue.

She lay limp and lifeless on the ground, covered in her blood, engulfed in cuts and gashes. It was all over now, _he could safely assume that she'd never come back..._

"No!" he jumped up.

"Ichigo, thank goodness you're okay!".

Yuzu and Karin leaned over him, gently giving him a hug before taking one of his hands each. "What were you dreaming about? We came to get you up for school, but you didn't wake up and then you screamed...".

"D-don't worry about it, okay?" he exhaled, getting up out of the bed. Soon he noticed where he was.

It appeared to be one of the clinic patient rooms, they must have been really worried.

Then Yuzu spoke again, "Dad was going to come in here too, but he said he'd wait outside for you. You should rest in here for a little longer before you go to school, it's kinda late but when you get there it'll only be an hour or so," she smiled.

At that information Ichigo got to his feet, "Thanks, but I need to get there soon. There's...an important lesson this morning," he lied.

"What's that?" Karin asked,

"Oh, it's...I...sorry, there are several important lessons and I don't remember which one!" he was never the greatest liar in the Kurosaki family.

Before they could ask any more questions, he fled to get dressed for school. That only took ten minutes, so before long he was several steps up from the bottom of the stairs. But he knew what was probably waiting, Isshin drama.

Ichigo gulped and continued to walk down, finding his father turned away facing the fire. He looked back at him, "You're awake?" he smiled.

"Yeah," he held his breath to see if there was a tackle or glomp coming.

Isshin calmly walked over, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay, son?".

This was rare, _normal _family moments with Isshin?

"I am, it was just..._a really realistic nightmare._"

"Aha, okay," he smiled again, "You'd better get to school then."

Before long, Ichigo was on the familiar path to his new place of torture. Every day, he got there excited to see if Orihime had returned. But it never happened, every day a fragment of his heart seemed to crumble away.

As always, he only paid attention to her empty seat. The lessons just didn't matter to him, school was now just a way to kill him slowly.

Death? Now that's an idea.

Ichigo exhaled sarcastically, a quiet laugh to himself. Nobody heard, so nobody looked at him. Even if they had, most of the class thought he was going crazy. It made no difference.

The soul society didn't know much about this, they had been busy for a few months. But they probably wouldn't do much about a human's disappearance without persuasion. That was something Ichigo did no want to do, he didn't even want to talk about it to anybody.

"Kurosaki, are you paying attention?".

He paused, "Y-yeah, Miss Ochi...". His sigh proved he wasn't, and his eyes had wandered outside the window.

It was very clear that had been a lie, but the teacher carried on with her lesson as always. When school ended, Ichigo was called to speak to her.

"Is something wrong, Miss Ochi?" he asked calmly, not seeming to care very much about whatever she might have to day.

"Ichigo, I know you're upset. You and Miss Inoue are very deeply in love, everybody can see that," she put her hand on his shoulder, like his father had earlier today. "Orihime's disappearance is tearing you apart piece by piece, but you should stop letting it distract you in class. School as very important. I understand that you miss her, we all do. But she wouldn't want you to be like this, whatever the reason she left was."

"I..." he struggled for words.

"Listen to me, she didn't do this to hurt you. That girl loves you more than anybody could ever love, she was trying to protect you. I...she sent me a message this morning, for you," - Ichigo's eyes lit up - "You need to go to...the water? That's what it says. I'm sorry, that's all the information I have, but I'm assuming you know what that means?".

Silence struck the near empty room before he turned to the door. His head was down, the look of determination burning in his eyes. "I know."

Nothing could stop him now, he ran full speed to the river. If Orihime had returned, he needed to see her, to kiss and hug her again.

It didn't take long to get there, because he so badly needed to be. The place looked empty, nobody seemed to be there. If somebody was tricking him, they would get shown how it feels to have a zanpakuto at their neck.

Minutes passed, nothing happened. So he sat on the grassy bank, looking out at the water. This was were they went on their first date. Well, at least they ended up here after the movie. It held so many good and bad memories, he couldn't control the flow in his head. His eyes closed and he arched over, one hand supporting his head.

Then the quiet voice came, "Ichigo?".

His head turned faster than ever before, he knew this voice better than anything.

Finally, she was there, real life. No longer just a picture in his head. She was _here. _"_Orihime?_".

Something was wrong. Her beautiful face was patchy and red, tears streaming down from her eyes. There was definitely something wrong there.

It had to be another nightmare, this couldn't be right. She rarely cried like this, who had done this to her?

"I'm...here," she looked guilty, seeing what she had done to him.

Ichigo climbed to his feet, he walked over to her with a serious expression on his face. Before he believed it, he had to know. His hands came up around her face, which he observed.

Orihime closed her eyes, afraid to hear what he might say. The second she opened her eyes again, she was surprised.

"Where have you been?" he smiled and wrapped himself around her. She kept still, with the tears still rolling down.

"I had to leave for a little while..." she whispered, no real explanations given right then.

"Why did you leave then?" he chuckled, putting one hand at the back of her head.

"I..." she began, Ichigo let go to listen properly, looking into her eyes. "Ichigo, I have a problem."

**New story! This one is gonna be a substitute. My other stories are currently unreachable, so I cannot update at the moment. But this one, I have 100% access to, and I have many ideas and much inspiration. It may even have several chapters before the end of the year! :)**

**I actually like the plan for this story, which is quite rare for me to say XD **

**Sorry about any mistakes -_-**

**Please leave a review, I'd love to know what you think!**

**~HellYus**


	2. Facing the Truth

_Previous:_

"_Where have you been?" he smiled and wrapped himself around her. She kept still, with the tears still rolling down._

"_I had to leave for a little while..." she whispered, no real explanations given right then._

"_Why did you leave then?" he chuckled, putting one hand at the back of her head._

"_I..." she began, he let go to listen properly, looking into her eyes. "Ichigo, I have a problem."_

_**No Regrets**_

Chapter 2: Facing the Truth

"What...problem?" he slowly, cautiously inquired.

"Two months ago...I found out, I wanted to tell you. But it's...such a huge thing that I didn't think I could...so I ran. I needed to think about it for I while. I stayed in a hotel and it was really hard, to be away from you. It's...the very worst thing that could happen to you, so I wasn't sure I should ever tell you, but now I see. You deserve to know...".

There was a pause. "What? What should I know?" he asked. When she didn't answer, he put his hands on her shoulders and squatted a little to her level. "If I deserve to know, please tell me what has caused me all this pain with your disappearance."

"I'm sorry..." she whispered.

"I'd love to accept that, but I don't know what you're sorry about! Please."

"After all that thinking I did...I still can't do it. If I tell you, I know what two possible reactions would be. But I don't want either of those, because both of them will hurt you!" she cried out.

He sighed, "What's hurting me right now is that you ran away to try and tell me something, then came back to do it and couldn't get it out. Most of the time, I only hoped that you were happy wherever you were. However there was always a part of me...that needed you more than ever. You are the single most important thing in my life, and I want you back, no matter what problem there is.".

"Ichigo..." she murmured.

"It's okay if you want to leave again, but only if you can be happy. From the looks of things now, you don't seem to be at all.".

"Of course I'm happy...you're here, finally. I've waited so long to see you again, even though it's been painful trying to tell you my reasons. I need you just as much as you need me, that's how it will always work. It's just that...there's someone else."

His eyes widened, staring at her, waiting for something. When she kept her head down, he let go of her.

"Someone else? You...love someone else?".

Orihime's heart was beating very heavily in her chest, it was too late to turn back now. More and more tears trickled down her cheeks.

"Ichigo...I..." she never looked up at him, it would make the words harder to say. He looked at her, puzzled and confused. How could there be someone else?

"Please...just tell me..." he begged, before he could get the image of her holding the hands of someone else, kissing them or hugging them.

"It's harder than I thought..." she flinched as he picked up her hands before any image in his mind could. "Ichi...I'm pregnant."

That was the point his mind and thoughts shattered. Now...it made sense. He could understand the hesitation, but...how should he react.

They were almost finished with school...not even eighteen years old yet. How would this work? What could they even do? There were the more simple options like abortion or adoption, but Orihime...she'd never want to go through with that.

Wait, was Ichigo really going through the options in his head? That was certainly not one of the predicted reactions. His silence gave the wrong ideas. It was true, there was a blank expression on his face again, completely lost in surprise and thought.

Before he could explain himself, Orihime turned and began to walk away. "Wait!" he called. She turned to look at him, tears welling in her eyes just after they'd finally stopped.

"I don't want to hear it...you're going to blame yourself, I can see it."

"Of course I'll blame myself! There's no way I could ever blame you! Well really...it's both of us. But I don't care about that! All I ask for now, is that we go and talk about this" he walked forward and held out his hand.

About to take it, Orihime pulled hers back. "It's a trick, it must be. It's my problem, so I should deal with it myself. I'm not going to let this get in the way of your life."

"What's getting in my way? This is...the life of our baby. Nothing feels more important than that!" he tried to convince her. Unfortunately she didn't believe he would have a response like that.

"I'm sorry, Ichigo..." she wiped the tears away and ran. The only place she could go was back to her apartment. It wasn't too far away, she could probably make it there before he caught up.

But then he was beside her, running along the path. "I need you to listen to me, I-".

"It doesn't matter anymore!" she looked away from his eyes. He stopped and stood still, allowing her to keep running.

This was clearly really messing up her head, he should just wait for her to be ready. The apartment was in view, he could see her run up the steps and slam the door closed.

As he made his own way over there he began to think. How must she feel? It was upsetting her so much, Ichigo was getting a little mad over it. He had played just as much of a part as she did in this, but he felt so guilty over it.

Then the thought struck, it was him who had done this to her.

For hours in the dark cold outdoors, he sat on the steps just outside her door. His family would be worried that he wasn't back, but he didn't care. It was his new family that he was focusing on.

The same thoughts kept on coming back, how would they raise a baby? Would she really go through with it? Would he have to force her to let him have a part in this?

He heard the door open, and she came and sat beside him. "Would you like to come in and have some tea?" she placed her hand on his. Something had changed in her eyes, her face. It was much more clear now, no tears or red cheeks.

Ichigo assumed she'd probably taken a bath, her clothes were different. She wore black leggings and a white shirt, with her long hair tied up. Definitely somewhat of a change in mood, he could see.

"Are you okay?" he asked, standing up as she did.

"Sure, are you? It's freezing cold out here! You should have come inside, I'm sorry I might have ignored you...but it wasn't time to talk then."

He smiled, this was the Orihime he knew and loved. She led him inside and set the kettle to boil. They both sat down at the table.

"So...you're going to keep this baby?" he asked.

She kept quiet for a very short pause, "I think so..." her voice was weak. She did seem very unsure about what to do, but she wasn't the type of girl who _wouldn't_ want to keep a baby.

"You might think this is going to wreck my life...but, it's one of the most amazing things that has happened recently. Maybe you don't understand that, but I want...to keep it," he smiled, squeezing her hand gently.

"Really...?" she blinked, not so sure if he was being serious or not, no matter what he'd just said.

"Of course, this is our baby we're talking about. I'm not quite sure how we'll manage this...or for that matter how much time we have. How long have you been pregnant?" he realized she'd never mentioned how far along she was.

"Three months..." she quietly declared. So she was one month when she found out, then the two months that she had been gone passed quite quickly.

"In that case we have about 6 months to sort this out. That's plenty...I think," he smirked, not really sure about what to do about it at that point.

"You're really serious..." she stood up, "We're really going to have the baby?" she grinned.

"Absolutely!" he stood up, smiling with her. She ran into his open arms and let the tears run back down her face again, assuming these were the extra emotions the doctor from the other town had told her about.

"Now I don't even care how hard it is...we're going to raise this baby just as well as anyone else, right?" she hugged him tightly.

"Better than anybody else. This baby is part Soul Reaper, they'll have incredible spiritual power and the best mother in the world," he kissed her forehead.

"They'll have a pretty good dad, too" she giggled.

Then the phone rang in Ichigo's pocket, which he thought was on vibrate. It must have slipped when he was running. The screen flashed up with seven missed calls from 'home' and one ongoing call. He touched the answer button and pressed the phone to his ear.

"Yeah?".

"_Ichigo where the hell are you?_"

"Don't worry, I'm at Orihime's."

A different voice spoke, _"Ichi-nii, please come home!"._

"Okay, okay, I'll be there soon. Hey, Yuzu get to bed already!

"_Not until you get home!"_

"Fine...I'm coming."

He ended the call and turned to Orihime. "Sorry about that, I guess I'll have to leave now."

"Don't worry," she smiled, "I just want to show you one thing before you go, if that's okay."

"Sure."

She moved over to him and took his hand, pressing it against her stomach. There was a tiny bump there, he could just about feel it.

Ichigo smiled, slipping his hands under her shirt, feeling her cold skin, the first signs of their future. He dropped down to his knees and kissed the bump, whispering goodbye before standing and doing the same to Orihime.

"Bye then," she smiled, "I'll see you tomorrow!".

Just before nine, he got back to the house. Yuzu ran to hug him, "We were so worried about you!". Karin stood casually back from the door, muttering "Brother, you're such an idiot."

They ran back up to bed as he ordered.

"Are you back, Ichigo?" Isshin called from the kitchen.

"Yeah," he replied. His father walked round to him. There was a brief smile on his face, "Is she back?".

Ichigo sighed, with a nod that ended in a smile.

"But that's...not all, is it?" the ex-Shinigami Captain could see it, if there was nothing else, his son would have said something as soon as he walked in.

"No...not everything," he admitted.

"So, what's wrong? Is she okay?".

"Sort of okay, but we'll never be the same again. One thing...caused her to run away, because she tried not to let it get in my way. But we've agreed to it, it's already happening and I wouldn't have it any other way. It's now our future," the description was quite clear.

Isshin's own expression was quite surprised, "She's...?".

"Yeah...she's pregnant," he didn't wait for his Dad's reaction, "3 months, and somehow, we're going to keep it."

"How do you suppose you'll do that? It's more than just an agreement, I assure you! I'm not angry, you've chosen the responsible option. But I'm not happy about it , and you shouldn't look it either. Raising a baby as a teen is not easy. Sure, you've almost finished school, but then what? Do you expect to find a job that'll support you and your family right away?" he started on and on about the details Ichigo wasn't quite ready for.

"Hey, I know it's going to be hard. That part's obvious! But...we know everything will be fine, there's plenty of time to work this out."

"Son, I'm not sure you're quite understanding me. I know you want this, but it can't all be perfect that easily. How will you handle this financially? Where will the baby live? School won't be easy either, I'm guessing Orihime will have to leave a little early. But your education is also important! The past two months haven't been good, you need to get your grades up again."

"I know, I know, all of this is true. But we will find a way somehow..." he promised.

"Come, sit," they went to sit on the sofa, "I need to talk to you."

"I'm listening."

"The only thing on the top of my mind right now...what if Orihime lived here for a while? Until you can afford to go out on your own. It would be easier, because me and your sisters will always be around to help. How does that sound?".

"Sounds like that would work, I'll see what she thinks to it...but it's a good idea, yes. I'm sure she'd agree. But I don't know how we'll afford baby furniture...I guess it would be expensive" Ichigo frowned.

"I'm happy to help out if I can, you're welcome to borrow money when you need it."

"Thanks a lot, Dad."

"Oh,one more thing," he said as Ichigo turned to leave. "Yeah?" his face was met with a fist as he turned around again.

He lay paralysed on the floor, his nose bleeding and his body sprawled out.

"That's what you get for knocking up an innocent young girl!" he smirked before walking away.

**A lot happened here! Though it's about half a page shorter than the first chapter...I hope it's okay though! It was a fast update, I didn't think I'd have it finished today. I guess it just means I'm trying to get the most of my time away from school! Because of course, updates will be less common in 2012 when I return to that time-consuming hell hole!**

**Sorry about any mistakes, I've noticed my habit of writing she instead of he, then I never find it during proofreading.**

**Please leave a review!**

**~HellYus **


	3. The Word is Out

_Previous:_

"_The only thing on the top of my mind right now...what if Orihime lived here for a while? Until you can afford to go out on your own. It would be easier, because me and your sisters will always be around to help. How does that sound?"._

"_Sounds like that would work, I'll see what she thinks to it...but it's a good idea, yes. I'm sure she'd agree. But I don't know how we'll afford baby furniture...I guess it would be expensive" Ichigo frowned._

"_I'm happy to help out if I can, you're welcome to borrow money when you need it."_

"_Thanks a lot, Dad."_

"_Oh, one more thing," he said as Ichigo turned to leave. "Yeah?" his face was met with a fist as he turned around again._

_He lay paralysed on the floor, his nose bleeding and his body sprawled out._

"_That's what you get for knocking up an innocent young girl!" he smirked before walking away._

_**No Regrets**_

Chapter 3: The Word is Out

"Kurosaki, you're looking a lot happier today!".

Everyone in the room looked at him curiously, they hadn't really noticed before.

Miss Ochi winked for just him to see, she knew he was back to normal, that Orihime had returned. However, she wasn't in class.

This did make Ichigo worry a little, hoping the previous day hadn't been another dream. But no, every moment of seeing her again was too good to be a dream.

At the back, he could see another classmate who was very worried about her, almost as much as he had been. Tatsuki Arisawa.

"Well, class. I have good news! Orihime Inoue is back in town at last!" Tatsuki's attention suddenly turned fully to the teacher. "I'm...not sure why she isn't here yet, but I'm sure she'll be with us again soon!".

Ichigo smiled as he saw the look on Tatsuki's face. She seemed ready to run around every place her best friend could be right then, even if it were one hundred miles away.

Theirs was the most loyal friendship anybody had ever seen. They fought to protect each other, not a single tear could fall without consequences to the reason.

Half way through third period lesson, Tatsuki finally began to relax. Orihime struggled through the door.

"What time is this, Miss Inoue?".

"I'm so sorry Miss Ochi, I overslept..." she blushed.

Ichigo was sure happy to see her. It seemed almost like a normal day, though of course never could it be the same as those days before. The bump didn't show under her cardigan, but the marks under her eyes shows the stress, luckily not a noticeable feature to use as evidence to guess at anything.

She took her seat, fairly close to Ichigo, she looked over and winked at him.

The Maths lesson drew to it's end before long, it went quite quickly for them in fact. Everybody was happy to have Orihime back, but Tatsuki never said anything.

As the class was dismissed, most people ran out for lunch break, however the couple and the unusually calm Tatsuki wandered over to the pair.

"Hey, Tatsuki..." Hime decided to face whatever wrath was coming for her.

"Would you mind telling me what the hell had been going on in the past 2 months? Did you get abducted by aliens?" she asked, a little anger showing in her voice.

Orihime paused, before stepping forward and hugging her friend. "I'm so sorry, Tatsuki...". Her embrace calmed her a lot, the normal Orihime was back for her, too.

"Just...why? Why didn't you say anything before you left? I would've gone with you...".

"It's...not important right now, but come with me, I'll tell you...". They left Ichigo and descended to the Girls' bathroom.

"So...will you tell me yet?" Tatsuki yawned, leaning back against the tiled wall.

"I think it would be better if I showed you..." Orihime murmured.

"What? Did you go away to practise magic tricks or something? If you did, I'm going to punch you for making me worry over nothing."

"No...not quite."

What they weren't aware of were the two girls slowly peeking around the toilet stalls, listening in on their conversation.

"Okay, should I expect you to tell me today or next week?".

"Here," she picked up her hand, rolling up the bottom of her cardigan with her blouse still underneath. It wasn't visible with any more than just the thin fabric, so she left it as that and pressed her friend's hand against the bump. "Here's the big secret, Tatsuki...".

For a while the karate master studied what was going on, then she looked up. "No way...are...are you really?" the hint of anger was there, voiced in the question.

"I am..." she said quietly, waiting for the next, probably dangerous response.

To her surprise, Tatsuki dropped her bag and knelt down, feeling her stomach with both hands. She laughed, "Really? You're serious?".

"Sure! It's too late to make any changes now, no regrets! Me and Ichigo...we're actually having a baby!" she cried the recently familiar happy tears.

"I'm happy for you guys!" she smiled, "But I think I'm going to have to punch Ichigo, just for doing this to you in the first place..." she started to ponder.

With the end of their important talk, they wandered out of the bathroom, little did they know the two eavesdroppers had heard everything.

"Wow, I never thought she'd be a slut..." one grinned.

"Hah, it's too late for her now! Her life's wrecked! But I think we should go and have some fun with this gossip..." the second giggled.

"I have to agree...".

Both of the girls laughed. Without stopping to consider how their planned actions would affect Orihime and her self-esteem, Rei and Takara scuttled out of the bathroom and to the ears of every friend they had in Karakura High School...

Meanwhile, outside by the trees, Ichigo was eating lunch with his friends.

Keigo was dancing around him, waving his arms and jumping about in a circle, "So, you finally have your girlfriend back, Ichi?" he sang.

"Could you please leave me alone?".

The most enthusiastic of the group hung his head and wandered to sit by the tree, his 'spot'. It seemed to be the best place to send him when he was acting in such moments.

"Ichigo!" an angry voice called.

Uryu Ishida walked over to them, quick paced and pushing the frame of his glasses back up the bridge of his nose. The frustrated expression matched his voice.

"What's up?" he frowned.

"Such a ridiculous question, you know what's up. However, I don't. That's why I need you to tell me. Tell me what's going on with Orihime!" he demanded.

"I have no idea what you're talking about..." Ichigo yawned, leaning back against the wall.

Before anything else could happen, Uryu grabbed Ichigo and yanked him away from the group, just around the corner.

"Don't think I'm stupid, I know there's something wrong. I started to notice it before she...disappeared. So don't you dare deny it!" he spoke through his teeth, the anger really showing in his speech. They were at school, he knew not to shout about it so that everybody could hear, his voice was just loud enough for the listener to hear him and his tone.

Ichigo sighed and looked at the ground, "Before I tell you anything...what did you notice?".

"It was an unusual change in her spiritual energy, it's like it grew bigger or something like that..." he re-positioned his glasses again before giving his 'enemy' a cold and curious look that could have physically pierced and shattered the glasses.

At that he wanted to laugh, Uryu was such a nerd. Now it had been proven that he could even detect a growing baby's spiritual pressure. By the end of these thoughts, Ichigo did actually laugh a little.

"I don't know what's so funny here."

"Right, sorry. There's a very good reason. I'm not sure if I should really tell you yet, only four people know about this so far..." his hesitant voice showed his uncertainty. Was it really a good idea telling him about this? But then, what harm could he really do with that information...?

"Spit it out, Kurosaki, I don't have all day," Uryu sighed, crossing his arms like an important workman, doing...important work.

"I...well, you see..." - the Quincy began to grow more and more impatient - "we are...as to say, um...".

"Are you serious?" he rolled his eyes in disgust, "Really, will you tell me or should I ask again later in front of everyone you don't want to let it out to? You're pathetic, do you know-".

"Orihime...is..." - Uryu made a 'yes?' gesture, urging him to hurry on before he forced him. Ichigo gulped, "Pregnant."

There was no immediate reaction, he stood there, clearly confused. The puzzled expression was probably just how Ichigo himself had looked, he thought.

"...What?" Uryu snapped.

"Me and Orihime...we're having a baby..." he repeated in a different sentence.

Again he paused, with an angry expression this time. It didn't take long for him to turn on again, his eyes closing and the corners of his mouth twitching.

"You really are an idiot, Kurosaki."

Ichigo never got in a chance to explain anything, the Quincy turned and walked away.

_Well that was awkward._

"Ichigo!".

Orihime skipped along to where her love sat, the father of her baby and whatever other titles she could have given him. He was with Chad and Keigo still.

Lessons were nearly starting, so she hurried to find him. "Hey, Hime,". Ichigo said a quick 'see you in class' to his friends and followed her just away to a spot out of their hearing.

When there was a silence as Orihime looked up at him, smiling in an adorable way. When he finally smiled right back at her, she grinned and hugged him tightly.

Ichigo laughed and as she let go, his arm extended around her and they walked slowly back to their classroom. It was just like those times before, months before Orihime left.

But of course, now things had changed. They had changed much more than either of them had thought, and they expected a huge difference.

"Mmm!" Orihime squealed quietly, nonetheless high pitched. Her hands came up to cover her mouth and she stopped walking, holding her head down to try to let the moment pass.

"What's wrong?" Ichigo questioned quickly, taking his arm away to put his hand on her shoulder.

"I-I have to go! Could you please...- she gulped - "could you please tell Miss Ochi that I'll be a few minutes late?" her voice came muffled through her hands.

"Sure, but where are you going?".

"The bathroom!" she ran away quickly.

_Of course, I forgot about that part._ Ichigo hadn't yet seen much to do with her pregnancy. So far all he'd gotten was the news, the time and he'd seen Orihime's tiny bump that had already started to form. She'd never mentioned morning sickness.

–

"Okay, thanks for telling me. Now please return to your seat."

The teacher had been informed, so he did as she said. He knew she'd return to class soon, there wasn't too much worry there.

Ichigo leaned back in his chair, waiting for the lesson to begin.

It was a Class Communication lesson. These happened every so often, but most people forgot about them. They just didn't seem so important.

Now didn't seem like a good time for this lesson, Ichigo didn't feel like talking to anybody. He knew they'd ask questions about Orihime, and no simple lies would keep them satisfied. Then he could of used the truth, but than was currently not to be spoken of. They'd probably see it for themselves before the end of the school year, just a couple of months away.

Rei and Takara, the girls from the bathroom, were in this classroom too. The two were average students, nothing was super special about them. Though one thing, they were gossipers. They had been the ones to hear that Orihime was pregnant, it wouldn't be long until everyone in school knew. Throughout the lesson, the giggled and stared at Ichigo, Rei had always liked him. That was one reason why she was so pleased to overhear his girlfriend's conversation, it could hurt her, maybe making her leave again.

It was like an unexpected plan had unfolded, unfortunately for the couple. But whatever happened, Orihime could never leave again. She needed Ichigo too much now, their baby needed them to be together.

Most of the class had heard the story from the girls, but they couldn't know for sure. Some of them were looking at Ichigo, just wondering about it. But because Rei and Takara never mentioned them _raising_ the baby and the class knew Ichigo as a good guy, that fact ruined the intended effect of the rumour.

Uryu had kept quiet, though he was never a worry. At least with telling people, he was only expected to remain angry for a while.

Ten minutes into the lesson, Orihime opened the door and wobbled inside. Her legs shook, and her face was a little red again. But she seemed to be okay, it was finally over.

"Sorry I'm late, Miss Ochi! I wasn't feeling too good for a while...but I'm okay now!" she blushed, walking to her previously appointed Class Communication group.

"That's okay, Miss Inoue. If it comes back just let me know and you can go to the Nurse."

"T-thank you!" she dipped her head and sat down.

It did, to her misfortune, just so happen that Rei and Takara were both in her group. They smirked to each other and whispered, "Proof,", to the members of the group. The others blinked and looked down, decided not to confront her. That job would probably be saved for the two news-bringers.

"How are you, Orihime? It's been a while," Rei flashed a fake smile, in mock of her.

"Yeah, you really should have texted us while you were gone! We wanted to know...what was going on with you..." Takara grinned.

"I was fine...sorry if I worried you, " she looked down, very aware of these girls' feelings for her. It was as clear as the day that they were trying to intimidate her.

"Oh, I'm so relieved..." Rei muttered, flipping through the lesson's tasks. "Hey, this looks like a good one!".

She held up the 'Opening' task, mainly to Orihime. It was about opening up to your classmates, telling them things about you that they don't know. Lucky for the girls.

"So who should we start with?" Takara asked, raising her hand and pointing around in a circle. The three boys shook their heads, leaving only Orihime.

"Hime?" Rei grinned, "Would you care to start us off? Yes? Okay, then we'll ask you some questions. You're too...shy to think of anything by yourself."

"Good idea, Rei-san, I'll give some. So, do you have any parents? Do you have any siblings?". Both were questions that they knew the answers to, they knew they were sensitive questions to her. That was the whole point.

"What else...hmm, does your boyfriend really love you?" - Rei's questions were actually shouted, - "Will you just admit it to everyone that you're pregnant?".

–

**Dun dun duuuun! Evil cliffhanger there!**

**I hope you like this chapter, it's been slowly progressing over several days and occasions! It's been a bit of a struggle, but I think it came out okay in the end. And by the way, is it weird that I hate Rei and Takara even though I made them? Haha~**

**Hopefully there's not too many mistakes in there...me and my stupid writing skills...but I'm not too worried, I eat diamonds, nails and fear for breakfast.**

**Also, thanks a lot for all of the reviews! This has only been up for a few days with two chapters, and I already got a couple of nice ones. I can't give you enough hugs to make up for it! ^_^**

**Please leave me a review here! They are much loved and appreciated!**

**~HellYus**


	4. New

_Previously: She held up the 'Opening' task, mainly to Orihime. It was about opening up to your classmates, telling them things about you that they don't know. Lucky for the girls._

"_So who should we start with?" Takara asked, raising her hand and pointing around in a circle. The three boys shook their heads, leaving only Orihime._

"_Hime?" Rei grinned, "Would you care to start us off? Yes? Okay, then we'll ask you some questions. You're too...shy to think of anything by yourself."_

"_Good idea, Rei-san, I'll give some. So, do you have any parents? Do you have any siblings?". Both were questions that they knew the answers to, they knew they were sensitive questions to her. That was the whole point._

"_What else...hmm, does your boyfriend really love you?" - Rei's questions were actually shouted, - "Will you just admit it to everyone that you're pregnant?"._

_**No Regrets**_

Chapter 4: New

The whole class stared in shock. Rei's questions had shocked them all, it was an unlikely thing to do, even for her.

Ichigo's hand curled into a fist on the other side of the room, the anger building up in his eyes again. This was way beyond the line, even if he didn't know the whole story.

"I...w-what?" Orihime whispered.

"Don't act so innocent, we heard you. Hah, I never exactly took you for a slut like that," Takara laughed.

"...What did you hear?".

"You and your _loving boyfriend_ are having a kid..." Rei spat.

"So what if we are?" Ichigo stood up quickly, both fists balled by his side. His face showed his mood, he was not at all happy.

"She's jealous!" Takara giggled in the corner.

"Am not!" Rei blushed angrily, "I just think that he deserves better than Inoue, who left him for two months. Now she comes asking for help with something that's all her fault! It makes me sick. He should have someone like me! I'm so much better than that bitch."

"What's wrong with you?" Ichigo's face dropped to a simple, unsympathetic expression. "That's the most ridiculous thing I've heard for months. You can think what you want, but it's nobody's fault. There's nobody I love more on this earth than Orihime, nothing can change that! The fact that we're having a baby together, _a good thing by the way_, doesn't concern you!".

Painful silence struck the room, nobody dared to say a single word. Even Miss Ochi was speechless. Class Communication wasn't supposed to be this kind of conversation.

"Well..." Takara shrugged, turning away.

If a few parts of her had been different, Rei would have growled right there. "I cannot believe this! You're really saying that you'd rather have her? That's stupid, what's so special about her?".

"Did I not just explain that to you? I love her! Surely that's simple enough to get into your head? Or are you really that blind...?" Ichigo's voice belted across the room with the majority of his words, it was impossible not to hear him.

"I-I..." Rei found herself suddenly threatened by his stare, "You see...".

"To tell the truth, we don't need any more now. Thank you, class!" Miss Ochi straightened her hair quickly, standing up to speak over them.

The four all sat down, three with attitude and one with clearly expressed fear. Orihime wobbled on her knees as she bent them to land on her chair, unsure if they still worked or not.

"Sorry..." Ichigo muttered, quietly but mainly meaningfully.

"Now...what should I do with you? I hate to treat you like children, we're a few years beyond that point, but it seems I have no other choice. Koya, Tsuki, I want you over in the corner, I'll bring some work to you in one moment. Kurosaki and Inoue, you can return to your groups or go to the library to study, it might calm you down. Try to look at something...useful."

The two girls stomped into the corner, cursing quietly. Ichigo sighed, slinging his bag over his shoulder and making his way outside the room.

However, somebody found that their legs wouldn't move, glued in their spot. Orihime tried to pull herself along, only getting out of her desk and down to the floor.

Ichigo ran back to help her up, gently pulling her along with her feet scurrying underneath. It was a slightly awkward journey to the library.

"I'm sorry, Ichigo...I had no idea that they knew. In fact, I'm not even slightly sure how they found out. Unless...you...?" she pondered, not wanting to accuse him of anything.

"Honestly, I told only two people, and they...well one of them probably wouldn't go telling other people. I'm not so sure about my dad now I think about it...".

"Well...who is it that you told, the one that would keep the secret?".

"It was...uh, Uryu...he forced it out of me. Then he wasn't happy about it at all," he muttered.

"Then I can't see how they know...I only told Tatsuki, and she'd never spread it out to girls like them. ...Could they have just heard us then, like they said?" she whispered her question.

"That seems like the most likely thing, so I guess it was just bad luck. Now the whole school probably knows...but I don't really care any more. The only thing that matters is that nobody is bothering you about it."

"Ichigo...?" Orihime smiled.

"Don't worry...I'll keep them away from us," his arm came up around her, now that she walked easily along the corridors. She slightly snuggled into him, the tears starting to flow again.

They arrived at the school library after only a few minutes. It was built only seven months before, refurbished at least. It was very useful to their class, in their last year they needed to study more than ever. Exams were only a few months away.

"What should we do...?" she inquired, looking around at the many shelves of information. The whole place was a bookworm's paradise. Even she was drawn in a little.

Ichigo came up behind her, whispering "I want to talk to you, but let's grab some books first."

They took a few books each on History, appropriate due to their test the following week. A table was spare in the corner of the room, so they sat down and opened the books.

"So...what did you want to talk about?".

"You, me and the baby. You've known a lot longer than me...so I'm sure you want to get it sorted out soon. I can understand that, so I want to talk a little now," his warm, friendly smile erased any previous worries about this conversation.

"Okay...how should we begin, though? There's so much to think about...".

"First I should ask, are we gonna live together? It will make everything so much easier, and my dad already suggesting you living at our house for a while. If you don't want to, that's fine, but it would mean extra help. Clearly this won't be easy anyway. Since our house is joined to our clinic, you'll be in good hands," Ichigo started on, after each sentence pausing for an answer. "So..?" he held her hand underneath the table.

"I...I'd really hate to be any trouble, though it would be a good idea. I completely agree, it would make everything a lot easier on us. But there's still the other problems...like money for baby furniture. I don't want our baby to miss out on anything, so it'll be even harder than I ever thought possible...".

"You don't have to worry about that, I'll...get a job or something. My dad will be willing to let us borrow money too, I can pay him back even after the baby is born," the smile reappeared on his face, comforting Orihime into showing her own.

"...Alright, we'll do what we can...but there's still lots to talk about, I guess. It can wait a while though. Ichigo...I want you to come to an appointment with me, next month. Is that okay?".

"Of course. I'd be happy to come. Oh, while I just remembered, when do you want to move in?".

"Well, when would you suggest?".

"Soon, as far as I can say. That might be best, because you can leave your apartment which would also save up money for the baby things...of course if that's what you want to do."

A glimmer of red blushed on her cheeks, still smiling. "Okay, I'll do that. Maybe I could come in...a week or two? Or a month? Two months? I really don't know..." she giggled.

"How about...literally as soon as possible? I don't want you to be alone, I never liked that, really."

"S-sure...okay.

"You've stayed over before, so it won't be too weird, right?".

"That's true, luckily I _am _used to your family now," she laughed.

Ichigo chuckled lightly with her, "So we'll start this, at the weekend? That would be a good time, right?".

She nodded, making that same adorable smile. "I'll try not to forget!".

"Great. Oh...and would you like to come out with me on Friday, maybe? It's been more than two months, right?". _Two long, painful months._

Her blush grew a little brighter, more intense. It was like this every time, no matter how many times they went out. Orihime took a deep breath and attempted her normal, happy face. "Okay!".

–

It was already the end of the school week. Every day had been hard for the young couple, facing the stares of the other students in the halls as they walked by.

However, they didn't complain. They hardly noticed it, in fact. Because they simply didn't care. If they wanted to stare, they could stare as much as they wanted.

Words were the only things that took it too far. If anybody mentioned 'it' to Orihime, unless in a friendly, harmless way, they would get a piece of Ichigo's mind. Severe punishment.

That was just how it was, nobody thought to change it, not when it worked so well for them. 'Joys' of pregnancy weren't the same when you experienced them as a teenager. Not by far.

"So, I'll see you later..." Ichigo quickly kissed her cheek and set out on his way back home.

Their date was to take place an hour from then, so Orihime rushed home to get herself ready.

All the way from school, it was quite a journey. Though for once, as a new record, only ten minutes later she arrived back home.

With little time to spare, she slumped down against the door as she closed it from the inside.

Her tiny apartment somehow looked bigger than she knew it was. Most of her things were packed up in boxes, or she had to get rid of them. The very next day she'd be moving in with Ichigo, and the panic had begun.

The Kurosaki's really loved her, so there was no reason to worry too much. It was just that...Karin and Yuzu knew nothing about the baby. They'd decided to tell them once things were sorted out, so as far as they knew, Orihime was moving in because she'd lost her relative's monthly financial support.

Honestly, they were happy about it. Especially Yuzu, who really admired her brother's girlfriend. Hopefully the real reason wouldn't become any kind of influence.

Other than that, there was no time to waste! Orihime had to get ready, that was the only thing on her mind.

Now the questions were about what to wear. There wasn't a lot of choice, really. Most clothes wouldn't fit too well, and some she wore far too much. So many risks she was unwilling to take, but she was starting to get a little desperate.

_What...should I wear? I have no idea...maybe the skirt? No, it's probably not going to fit any more. Or...maybe the jumper? Ichi always liked that one...the open-neck jumper! Yes! And it won't show anything...even if the bump is really small right now._

Determined, she dug through the box of clothes, searching for her desired outfit. By the time the whole collection was surrounding her in a huge pile, she noticed it was right there, at the very bottom.

At the end of her struggle with the rest of the pile, she flushed out a black silk vest and some dark jeans. It would look okay together, probably the best she could get with her jumper.

She changed into them, and as she thought, they went quite well together. But there was still some time left, about fifteen minutes remained. Just enough time.

Orihime ran through her hair with a brush quickly, just tidying up before clipping in her hairpins, one on each side as usual.

Now she was in a slight hurry to get out of the house, the feeling of excitement starting to tug at her heart. Even with her 'condition' she ran out and set on her way to the park, where she was meeting Ichigo.

_Oh my gosh...I'm going to be late! What if he has to wait? He might just leave if I don't get there..._

The same paranoid thoughts had always been the same for her when it came to him. Still, there were never any real reasons to worry.

Lucky for her, he was still waiting as she arrived. Rain was just starting to drizzle down from the clouds as he waved and put up his hand.

"So you made it, huh?" he chuckled.

Ichigo wore a plain white shirt and a grey jacket, probably a little cold in the cool April air. "Sorry I'm a little late! I..." explanations bursted out immediately.

"Don't worry about it, I've only been here for five minutes," he laughed.

"Oh...okay..." she blushed.

The Substitute Shinigami took her hand, leaving an even more intense blush on her face. He chuckled as they started to walk.

"So, where are we going?" she whispered.

"I'm not really sure...I couldn't think of much. Lots of things we used to do, we can't any more. This new situation has laid down some limits, but we can still have fun, right?" he smiled.

"Well sure," her own smile showed as their pace slowed a little, "anything is fun!" she giggled.

"In that case, let's just see where we end up...".

They walked for what seemed like such a long time, passing through the streets, parks, past the buildings and by the river. For all of that time they barely had to say a word to each other, the communication was all through the eyes.

After half and hour and slow strolling through Karakura, Orihime pulled to a halt.

"Oh no..." she muttered, looking back past her shoulder.

Ichigo looked over to her, "Is something wrong?" his grip on her hand grew a little firmer.

"No, it's...well, yes. I completely forgot, I was supposed to go to an appointment. I made it just before I returned, it slipped right past my mind when you asked me out tonight! I'll never make it now anyway, I'm sorry..." she explained, one hand slammed against her forehead.

"Was it an important appointment?".

"I...I guess so. I think I was supposed to have one of those...ultrasound-things," she pouted in thought, trying to remember.

"What? Really? Then you should probably still go! Wouldn't it be worth it? There's probably a chance we could get there, what time was it?" he took her other hand from her head and held it down on the opposite side to her other.

"Well there's still ten minutes...but it's at the Clinic on the other side of town, if it's busy they probably wouldn't see me if I'm any more than five minutes late."

Ichigo leaned in close to her face, "Wouldn't you like to see that baby?" he smiled. "If we hurry, I bet we can get there in time. Besides, we're not doing anything else right now. It would be interesting, I'd like to see. After the appointment, we can get something to eat. Then we can go to the Park. How does that sound?".

"...Okay, let's go!" she smiled back at him.

For five minutes they walked quickly, hand in hand, never letting go. It was a race against time, and they were nearly halfway.

But they needed to move faster, and one of them had a plan.

"I have an idea, let's stop for a second," Ichigo took down the speed and stood still.

"W-what is it?" she huffed, all of the walking just starting to tire her a little.

He didn't say anything, Ichigo just pulled her up with ease over his shoulders, carrying her piggy-back style.

Orihime grabbed onto him tightly, eyes closed, starting to wonder at what altitude she'd be at when she opened her eyes. He was a Soul Reaper, after all.

"This'll be quicker."

They set off again at a quicker pace, it seemed much more like they'd make it now.

Just seven minutes later they were in the waiting room of the clinic. Luckily, the last patient had been a little late and the schedule was a few minutes behind time.

"Orihime Inoue?" asked a voice.

She sprang up from her seat automatically, looking over to the Nurse. "Yes?".

"Dr. Itsuki will see you now," she smiled.

"O-okay!" she walked along. Ichigo stood up and followed, scowling at the clinic and it's system that seemed so wildly foreign to his own family's.

The hall lead them to an enclosed room that seemed to be specifically for pregnancy-related appointments. Doctor Itsuki was standing by the window, just turning to see them nervously enter.

"Hi there, how are you?" he smiled.

"Fine, everything's great!".

"That's good. So you're having an ultrasound today, correct?" he was browsing through her file.

"Yep, I think that was the plan."

"Okay, let's get that set up then."

He pulled out a large machine with a screen. Orihime hopped up onto the bed and lay back.

Ichigo stood right by her, a little unsure about the, in his mind, strange doctor. Even though he'd seen one before, the weird little device connected the machine by a cord was extremely confusing. It looked a lot like some kind of shaving tool.

"Alright," he finished hooking everything up, "now if you'd lift up your shirt, I can start."

She pulled up her jumper and vest, revealing her slightly swollen stomach. The Doctor applied that famous cold jelly-liquid and pressed the shaving-thing against the bump.

"Here we go...right here, there. There's your...baby..." he paused. Doctor Itsuki scanned the screen carefully, picking up the chart of her information with his spare hand. He looked over and over, checking several times.

"I think the Doctor from your last appointment missed something," he looked at the teenage couple.

"What do you mean?" Ichigo was the one to ask, cautiously eyeing the Doctor.

"It seems that you, Miss Inoue, are carrying twins."

–

**Comeback! It's been such a long time, hmm? Really, I've missed this. I can't believe how long this update took, I bet my story has been deleted off everyone's alert now! Hehe, really, I'm sorry.**

**After Christmas and returning to school, I got quite buried in work. Every night I opened up this document I could barely think of another sentence to write.**

**But anyway, huge plot revelation here! I hope it wasn't too soon! But anyway, the rest of the 'date type scenario' will be written in the next chapter! (Of which I will begin and maybe, hopefully finish before Monday). Good night! (It's nearly Sunday already, 11:58 pm! Needsleep!)**

**Please! Make an exhausted girl happy and leave a review!**

**~HellYus**


	5. Preparations

_Previously:_

_"Here we go...right here, there. There's your...baby..." he paused. Doctor Itsuki scanned the screen carefully, picking up the chart of her information with his spare hand. He looked over and over, checking several times._

_"I think the Doctor from your last appointment missed something," he looked at the teenage couple._

_"What do you mean?" Ichigo was the one to ask, cautiously eyeing the Doctor._

_"It seems that you, Miss Inoue, are carrying twins."_

_**No Regrets**_

Chatper 5: Preparations

Silence struck the entire room.

Not even the Doctor dared to say a single word. Ichigo stared blankly at the screen, while Orihime looked at the ground.

After a minute or so, she finally whispered, "...What?".

_Twins?_ The same thoughts were overloading Ichigo's mind. _What the hell is this guy talking about?_

"From what I can see, there are definitely two. Should I offer a congratulations?" he smiled.

"Not yet," Ichigo straightened his posture. "Are you absolutely sure about this?".

"Yes, I am positive. Please do not worry, I can give you information about this. I'm sure you're already anxious because you're only teenagers, but please, just ask me anything and I'll try to keep up with your questions."

Orihime sat up a little more and turned to face them, "What...does this mean?".

"Please, multiple births don't cause too much more trouble. However, I'm sorry to say...for a teenager..." his eyes followed the tile pattern on the floor.

Ichigo sighed, "So were walking right into an impossible task? Great, now I'm confident." he muttered.

The concerned Doctor put his hand on his shoulder, "Please," he repeated, "Do not worry."

"Honestly, I don't really care what happens as long as Orihime and the..._twins_ are okay."

"I can't promise you anything, this will take a lot of work. But I'm sure you can handle it, just so long as you have other people who would be willing to care for the children any time one of you two cannot. Am I correct in assuming you do so?".

"Sure...we do, right?" Orihime answered weakly, looking up at Ichigo to confirm her answer.

"Yeah."

"Then right now you don't have to worry," Dr. Itsuki smiled again, "So I think that's all for today, do you wish to make another appointment?"

"No, that's fine," she stood up from the bed, speaking quietly, quickly and with no emotion, "I'll call in for the next..."

With that, they left.

–

The same awkward silence created after they had received the news came back, following them like a lingering spirit.

From the clinic, they travelled to a small restaurant just a few streets away. As they sat down at a two-seated table inside, Orihime sighed.

"What should we do?".

_That's a good question..._ he thought, "I don't know...". His hand moved to hold hers on the face of the table.

"Somehow...I feel like it will be okay. How much more trouble could an extra baby cause?" she stated to giggle, "Let's just see, one year from now I might regret saying that."

Ichigo exhaled. "It'll also add to the cost of things...".

"Well, that's true...".

"Yeah, it'd cost something more than 100,000 yen to pay for everything. To adults that wouldn't take long, but let's keep it in mind that right now we're still just teenagers."

Orihime looked down at the floor, "It's been on my mind the whole time..."

He frowned, "...Are you okay?".

"Sure...it's just, I used to be happy. Before any of this happened, I was just a teenager in high school. Even though I'm not upset about having a...well, babies, at this age, I wish I still had the option. The choice got taken away, because we both know...I could never give up a baby."

"No, because you're better than that."

Her eyes moved quickly back up to him.

Ichigo's expression was firm, his eyes gazing slightly intensely at her.

"Most other girls, they wouldn't even consider keeping it. But you...are different. You actually care, and that's one of the things I love about you."

–

It was dark outside as they left the restaurant. For hours they had talked about anything and everything, never wanting it to end. But after so much time, they thought they should go somewhere else. To the park, like Ichigo had suggested earlier.

Even on the walk to the park, they talked still. It ended only when they arrived at the park.

Orihime gazed out at the scene.

Fireflies decorated the air, street lamps glowing a warm light. They sat down on a bench and looked out across the grass.

"So..." she giggled.

Ichigo smiled, "So..."

There wasn't much left to say. Orihime blushed, looked down, brought up her head quickly and kissed his cheek.

His arm extended around her, and he leaned in, gently kissing her lips. After ten seconds, he pulled away a little, just for air. Before kissing her again, he kept his head close to his. Ichigo moved his hand, resting it with hers, across the bump.

At their next air break, Orihime whispered, "...Are you happy?".

"Hmm?".

"Are you happy...that it's twins?" she murmured, touching his face, gazing into his eyes. "Besides all of the worrying, are you at least a little excited?".

His hand reset it's position on her stomach, "Of course I am," he smirked, "I have a feeling...that it will be twice the trouble, but twice the fun."

She smiled, nestling slightly into his neck, "I thought of that too," her voice was quieter than before, "I'm glad you agree..."

He kissed her forehead, "You don't seem to trust me very much...are you expecting me to flip out and become enraged about this?".

"Maybe a little..." she admitted.

Ichigo chuckled, "You don't have to worry, I'll be here all the time."

Most believed him, but a tiny part of Orihime's mind didn't want to trust that. She knew teen pregnancy, she'd seen it with older students. It's extremely common in any high school, anywhere in the world.

Orihime knew very well that couples barely ever lasted in that situation. Though she loved Ichigo very much, she couldn't help but fear the same thing happening to them...

–

"Hey, Orihime!".

The door burst open.

"Are you trying to be late for your last day of school?" Ichigo laughed.

In the middle of his bedroom, there was a double-sized bed. Under the sheets, he could see the lump. It wriggled a little before the muffled voice was heard, "I'm too tired for school."

He sighed, "Sorry, I don't think I'll let you miss out on a day as important as this!" his smile came quickly after saying that.

The lump groaned, "...Fine."

Ichigo rolled his eyes as the sheets started to move. The covers flew up as he walked out of the room.

Orihime climbed up and out of the bed, wiping her eyes. The light coming in from the window was so intense, compared to the simple shade of her eyelids.

She wore a silky white shirt and a pair of tiny blue shorts. From her appearance, the clothes were really nothing to look at. The most interesting feature was the bump that had now extended five inches from the original size. This was the new proof.

Her eyes fluttered open and she glanced at the clock, taking a moment for her vision to clear up. Then her sigh echoed around the room, even though nobody else could hear.

After she inhaled, she grabbed a towel from the closet and pulled off her clothes. After observing the measurements of the bump for several minutes, she wrapped herself up and ran into the bathroom.

The weather was getting warmer, and a cold shower in the morning certainly helped with relaxation. It took a minute to get used to the temperature, but it was better than the usual warm shower.

After five minutes, Orihime stepped out and set the towel in position again. After the other bathroom morning jobs, she dried her face and skipped quickly back to the bedroom.

Another five minutes later, she was fully dressed in her uniform. Normal uniforms were being used again, the grey skirts and jackets. Though her bump was very visible that way.

Also, it was too hot to wear the jacket most of the time, and nothing could be hidden under just the blouse.

Now she had twenty minutes before setting off for school. That was probably enough time.

_Hmm...breakfast...?_ the thought was passed around each corner of her mind, _Ichigo will be mad if I don't eat anything...I should go._

Slowly and quietly, she wandered downstairs.

Ichigo was sat at the table with Yuzu, as Karin watched TV.

"Good morning, Orihime!" Yuzu greeted cheerfully. Orihime giggled, "Good morning!".

In two minutes, she produced a bowl of rice from the previous night's dinner. Then she sat at the table next to Ichigo and began eating with a pair of chopsticks.

When she'd gotten to the bottom of the bowl, Ichigo stood up and moved behind her. "So I see you made it out of bed?" he laughed.

"Just about," she turned around, smiling. She took the bowl to the sink and washed it out, grabbing the cloth to dry it before placing it back in the cupboard.

An envelope caught her eye. "What's this?".

It was on the kitchen counter with the rest of the mail, addressed to her.

"I think it's from the bank, it looks important so I left it out there for you."

Her fingers slid underneath the seal, pulling the flap open. She took out the letter and studied it's text.

'_Your current balance is 70,000 yen.'_

Both of them had been working very hard to earn money, and so far their effort had been rewarded very well. They had nearly reached the original target, but they realized it would be safer to add an extra 50,000 yen to their target. It was easy to forget the basic things they would need _after_ the twins arrived.

Ichigo watched her reaction, calculation the letter's purpose in his head. "What are we on?".

"Seventy," she smiled again.

Orihime was now five months pregnant. They knew time would fly by quickly, but that was under-stating how it had felt.

As well as passing the half-way mark, she had lived with the Kurosaki's for two months too. Everything had started off fine, though breaking the news to the sisters had been a little dangerous.

"_Yuzu, Karin, can we talk to you for a moment?"._

_The girls curiously wandered to the table, where the couple were sat. They sat down, facing them and listened._

_Orihime nervously spoke up. "I'm sure you've been thinking about why I'm here? You two are smart girls, I'm sure you didn't believe what we told you before."_

_Their eyes flickered around the room, focusing on anything but a forward direction. "Well..." they muttered._

"_We sort of did believe you...but..."._

"_It's okay, don't worry about that," she smiled._

_Ichigo put his arm around her, "So, like Orihime said, you've probably wondered about it. We're sorry, it's true that we wouldn't have answered if you asked. But we couldn't quite find a way to tell you the real reason. Though, now I think we can tell you straightforwardly."_

"_This will definitely surprise you..."_

_There was a moment of awkward silence. _

_Glances were exchanged, waiting for something to be said. Karin and Yuzu stared, not without patience, but there was a lot of confusion._

"_In about five months..." Orihime began._

"_You two..."_

"_Are going to be..."_

"_Aunts..." they both finished._

_They blinked, mildly attempting to process the given information. "...What did you just say?"_

"_Um," the couple exchanged looks again, before looking back to the girls._

_Ichigo lowered his head, trying to think of an answer, as did Orihime._

_Yuzu leaned forward, "So...you're...having a baby?". Karin's eyes darted between both members of the pair, waiting for a response._

_Orihime moved her hand down to her still barely visible two inch bump, "Well, not just one..."_

"_What?" Karin stood up, her leer scanning all she could see of Ichigo's face. _

_As soon as he caught on to her scowling, he looked up again. "Yes, it's true. We're having...twins."_

_Another quick moment of silence caught the atmosphere, burning tension almost showing up right there in the air._

"_Oh my gosh! Are you guys really serious?" Yuzu's eyes suddenly shone._

"_Y-yes.."_

"_Don't look so happy about it, Yuzu! Our brother is a real idiot, don't celebrate that!" Karin sat back down, eyes closed and arms crossed._

"_Why not, Karin? We get to be aunts!" she jumped quickly at her last word, grinning happily._

_The generally more laid-back one of the sisters looked up at her energetic 'twin'. "You didn't forget how babies are made, right?"_

Orihime shuddered at the memory, not caring to go over the rest. She put the letter back with the mail and walked slowly back to the table.

Then she looked down. Her feet were no longer there, it seemed. The bump was very large and round even at this stage, especially compared with her original figure.

It was a lot to take in, just with her new appearance. But it wasn't as hard as walking around with the extra weight. She knew it would reach a point where she could barely walk at all, however she didn't worry.

Actually, to her it looked like a challenge she was determined to beat. The family wondered if she knew just how much heavier it would be at nine months, with two fully grown babies and all of the liquids included.

Ichigo stood up and pushed his chair back under the table, "Are you all ready for school?"

"As much as I can be," she sighed, collection her bag from the front of the house and looking back at him. They both held their jackets over their arms and set out the door.

"Hopefully you won't get all emotional," Ichigo chuckled, "But I won't blame you. After all, at the end of the today you'll have to start calling yourself an adult."

"Or it could just be some pregnant teenager. That could be much more simple."

–

**Updaate! Took two days more than I had hoped, but oh well. I hope you liked!**

**I'm not actually sure about what the purpose of this chapter was, maybe just an insight on life at the Kurosaki house. Hopefully it was worth three days and a lot of work for me! XD**

**Please, please, please leave a review!**

**~HellYus**


	6. Farewell

_Previously:_

_Ichigo stood up and pushed his chair back under the table, "Are you all ready for school?"_

"_As much we can be," she sighed, collecting her bag from the front of the house and looking back at him. They both held their jackets over their arms and set out the door._

"_Hopefully you won't get all emotional," Ichigo chuckled, "But I won't blame you. After all, at the end of the today you'll have to start calling yourself an adult."_

"_Or it could just be some pregnant teenager. That could be much more simple."_

_**No Regrets**_

Chapter 6: Farewell

It was undeniable that Orihime's walking speed had slowed a lot with each step closer she got. In her mind, there was no way she could face her last day of school this way.

She awkwardly waddled along, pulled on only a little by the force of Ichigo's hand.

"Can I just give up and go back home?" she pouted.

Her legs didn't want to move, they seemed to have a connection to her desires, regardless of energy levels and courage.

Ichigo looked back at her, laughing. "Come on, it's not much further!".

"But when I get there, you definitely won't let me go back!".

"That's a good thing, today I'm here to keep you in order."

"It's your last day of school too," she muttered, looking at the ground. In reality, she was blushing at the fact that he'd easily forget his life for her. It didn't exactly make her happy, though.

–

They arrived only five minutes later, still with plenty of time before the first 'lesson' began. It wasn't really a lesson on a day like this. It would just be something random and partly fun, for most.

Orihime fell into her seat and gazed out of the window, in the direction of the house. Ichigo stood looking over her shoulder.

She turned around, looking into the corner. Chad and Uryu sat talking quietly, among the lively conversation by the rest of the class.

"You can go over there, you know."

He laughed, "I'm not going to leave you alone, you could escape."

_Or...if I move them over to the door, she couldn't ever sneak past..._

"I know what you're thinking," she changed her position to resting her hands at the top of her bump, like a ledge, "I promise to behave while you're gone. Now get over there and talk to your friends!". She laughed, pushing him away.

Ichigo was hesitant to follow her commands, until the familiar friend of his walked into the room. "I'll handle this."

Tatsuki wandered over, bag held over the shoulder. She looked Orihime in the eye and smiled, "You're not going anywhere," suddenly she glared, "right?"

She slid down into her chair, "...Right," she whimpered.

–

Time went so quickly. It was already fourth lesson, Gym.

The hall was split, girls did gymnastics and boys did volleyball. There wasn't an actual wall in between, but nobody crossed the line if unnecessary.

Orihime sat on a bench in her uniform. Since she had explained her situation to the teacher, she was excused from all physical activities. It was a shame, she usually quite enjoyed P.E.

Every so often, Ichigo would find himself glancing over at her. This usually resulted in some kind of brief injury, such as a volleyball in the face.

He tried to pay more attention, but it didn't seem to work. He was just as captivated by her as always. That was something that would never change.

Sighing, she focused her vision away from the floor and watched some of the girls in her group attempt a three-person pyramid. They made the falling down part look like so much fun, Orihime was a little upset.

Then she moved her hand to the bump, _It's worth it for you._

"Hey..." she whispered.

She carefully concentrated. Something moved.

Her hands griped her stomach a little tighter, waiting for the same feeling she just experienced.

There it was again. A flutter of movements inside of her, she wasn't sure what to feel about it. But then there wasn't much to think about, one of the babies was definitely kicking. For the first time.

Quickly she looked around, Ichigo was so far away. As soon as the lesson ended, she had to find him.

Every minute second was like ten years, as if it would never end. He was finally concentrating, so she didn't look at him any more. It was easier to sit and stare at the girls laughing and having fun in envy.

She noticed that the same flicker of a feeling occurred whenever she thought of it, hoping it would still work that way to show Ichigo.

That was one of the most exciting yet painful thirty minutes of her life, and it didn't matter how normal the event was. It was the first time for _her._

All of the students were sent out to get changed, the lesson had ended. Orihime collected her bag and stood outside.

That part of the hall was empty. Everyone in P.E was still getting changed, and any other students whose lessons had finished were probably eating lunch.

She carefully studied the walls, sighing. It could take a while for Ichigo to come out, the boys got less time to change.

"Orihime?".

Her eyes darted around, with her head following. Their friend from another world had arrived again for a visit.

She blinked, "Is that you, Rukia?".

The tiny Soul Reaper appeared at her side and hugged her, "It's been a while!".

"It has!" Orihime laughed. "What are you doing here?".

"I finished my work early, so I was allowed to come here for a visit," she smiled, "so how are you?".

"Oh! I'm...well..." she couldn't find the strength to tell her right then.

Rukia's smile changed, it was now a curious expression, "Is something wrong?".

"Well...no and yes, but I'd probably go for no."

"Orihime, what is going on?".

The auburn-haired girl kept silent, eyes closed with a concerned look. Her friend looked closely, examining her from several similar angles. Then her eyes flicked to her stomach.

She didn't dare to ask, it was obviously rude. So she looked again and again, trying to find another way to confirm her suspicion.

"What's with...this spiritual pressure?" she tried, there was definitely something different, both of them knew that.

"...We should go."

"Huh?"

Orihime turned to the corridor leading outside, "People will be out here soon, and to most of them it'll look like I'm talking to myself!" she smiled quickly, before they moved on.

They found a spot near some trees, where nobody would hear them talk. The journey had been silent, and rather awkward. Other students already thought quite little of her because of her situation, nobody understood. So it was best that she didn't try to talk, not even quietly.

"You are planning to tell me, right?".

"Sure...once I get the words," she pondered, sitting down on the grass.

Orihime found it quite strange that Rukia hadn't mentioned her bump. Though of course, it wouldn't be polite. She didn't really expect her to, after that thought.

So what if she could make it obvious, rather than this struggle with her mind to find the sentence she wanted. It might work...

After a moment, she leaned back on the tree. The bump stuck out, very clear under her uniform.

However the possible reasons and explanations behind _that_ particular new feature had already passed through her mind, and she found all of them too unlikely.

When it didn't show results, Orihime sighed. "Maybe I should let Ichigo tell you..."

"So Ichigo is involved, hmm?".

She shoved her face into her hands. That wasn't supposed to happen.

_But...Rukia doesn't seem mad or anything...not yet. Maybe I should let her guess...even though I doubt I'll be able to confirm it if she makes the right assumptions. I'll have to try. I'm sure she'd prefer to hear this from me...I started it._

Her hand moved, hovering before landing on the raised patch of her stomach.

The Soul Reaper's eyes followed it curiously, scanning her evidence, figuring it all out...

"...Orihime..." she gasped, "Are you...really...?".

The spiritually aware human sighed, moving her other hand down, revealing the other half of her face. "Yes I am...".

"W-why?" she nervously inquired, "I though that wasn't really normal for your age...".

"It's a mistake, "she muttered, "But we're trying to make the best of it...trying...".

"Do...do you want me to congratulate you? Or should I be concerned..." Rukia frowned, lost in her mind, "No. I know what I have to do."

"Really?" Orihime blinked, realizing her question sounded a little stupid.

"Yes," the smaller girl nodded, closing her eyes. Then they flashed open, "I am going to go, and kill Ichigo Kurosaki!".

"W-wha-?" the seated girl climbed up to her feet. "What are you talking about?".

"It's his fault, correct?".

"Well, no. It's more b-".

"Are you sure? I thought it was the male that-".

"Never mind! Just, don't kill him! I do sort of need him...".

Rukia grunted, "Aren't you mad at him?".

"Of course not...why would I be?" she whispered.

"He took away your future!".

"No..." she stopped, then smiled. "He gave us a new one,".

Again, her hands moved to press against her bump. She looked down, "The only things that matters to me any more, besides him, are these babies..."

She froze, glancing from Orihime, then back to the bump. "Are you getting plural worlds mixed up with singulars?".

"I don't think so," she chuckled, "we're definitely having twins."

"Oo-kay?" Rukia murmured, "and do you know...the genders?".

"Not yet," her eyes moved back to her friend, "but I am positive...one will be a boy. At least one, I think. I hope...he'll have orange hair...and brown eyes, like his dad."

"I'm sure that it's very possible," she smiled.

"Then of course...a girl. She might have black hair, I usually imagine. Or maybe brown. And her eyes...would be blue. That's just a mix from my imagination. But I think it really could happen, both me and Ichigo have family with black hair, or maybe others. I can't say I know much about my family...".

When her eyes started to glisten, she knew tears were forming somewhere behind the surface. But it wasn't the time to cry for those reasons, she could only be happy.

She held it back and inhaled, closing her eyes until...

"Orihime!".

They jolted open, searching the area quickly.

Ichigo stood over her, breathing deeply. "Where have you been? I thought you were gonna wait outside, I...".

He looked over at Rukia. "That you, Kuchiki?".

The other Shinigami held her elegant face, just for a second. Just a second before she kicked him onto the ground.

"My name is Rukia, you fool!".

There was silence, before Ichigo coughed out, "...Sure."

"Anyway, I have something...to do..." her hands gripped her sword, pulling it out and pointing it at his neck.

"O-okay, whatcha doing there?" the 'Substitute' asked frantically.

"I am going to kill you."

The other girl watched carefully, her hands by the hairpins clipped onto her shirt, also by the position of her heart.

"And...why is that?" Ichigo gulped.

"Because of what you did to Orihime!".

"Rukia," she tried to smile, "didn't we already talk about that? I'm happy about it, now, at least...".

"Well I'm still kinda angry...".

"Then...would it be okay just to scold him like always? Like I said, I do need him," her free hand waved a little in a 'stop' motion.

She thought about it, carefully. It was as if her options would change the world.

That was actually almost true. Ichigo Kurosaki had been an important part of the Soul Society. They had only recently cleared their debt to him, by restoring his Shinigami powers. Yet one of their Squad Lieutenants was now trying to kill him.

"Please?" Orihime placed her hand on Rukia's shoulder.

"...Fine. But when the time comes...the harder part of this, I will not give you another chance!" she looked at Ichigo.

The figure dressed in black disappeared over the fence, flash-stepping away.

"Wow...you must have magical powers..." Ichigo was pulled up by Orihime's hand.

"A-are you okay?" she touched his face, looking at his dusty uniform.

"Sure...my clothes are a little dirty, that's all though."

In a short minute, her yellow dome of light was surrounding him, rejecting the dirt that had collected on the back of his uniform.

"Always convenient..." he smirked, leaning down and locking his lips to hers, just for a moment.

As she slipped into his gesturing arms, she winced quickly. The flicker of movement within had started again. It was almost stronger than before.

This time, Ichigo was here.

"Here, feel this!" she grinned excitedly.

Her hand took his and she pressed it at the bump.

"What is it?".

Nothing happened. Not right away.

The tiny, weak kick occurred again. Ichigo concentrated.

"How long has this been happening?" he laughed suddenly.

"It started in the Gym! I was desperate to tell you...but then Rukia came...I'm really sorry."

"Don't apologise! It's not your fault," he smiled.

"Honestly, though. I feel guilt about it no-".

He kissed her.

When he pulled away, he exhaled before whispering the words, "I'm starting to wonder if either of them will be as unbelievably apologetic as you are."

–

"Okay, class. That's it for the day, or rather, the rest of your lives I can assume!" Miss Ochi laughed.

It was true, the last lesson had ended. The class would find themselves walking away from this stage of their life in just a few minutes.

However one student, didn't seem happy about it at all.

They left, the eager ones running to the door. It started to get crowded, so Ichigo and Orihime waited at the back.

The former students were drained from the room in about a minute, so they followed.

"Are you okay?" Ichigo asked as he noticed, she was looking down.

Orihime exhaled, "No...I bet I'll get emotional now. I thought I wouldn't have too...but well, you know. Pregnancy stuff," she pouted.

He laughed, bringing his arm up around her shoulders. "You don't have to be upset about that," he promised, quickly kissing her cheek, "you can cry as much as you want."

She had an almost-smile. "I'll keep that it mind."

–

**Next chapter! :) It's been a while again, I hope that wasn't too long to wait, if anybody actually has an interest in this story. XD I feel awful if I can't update at least every week.**

**But anyway, I hope you liked! Please, please, please leave a review! *I did stay up a long time, even though I was very tired, to write this. I did finish it last night, but I couldn't log on, so I couldn't upload it...site updates or something? :/ Anyway, I write these updates with much love! ;D It really would just be great it you could leave a review for me to read! ^^**

**Important! I'm gonna do another time-skip in the next chapter! Hime is currently 5, not far from 6 months pregnant, according to my calculations. What do you think, should I skip to the end of 6 months or some time during the 7th month?**

**Please help!**

**~HellYus**


	7. Soul Society

_Previously: __It was true, the last lesson had ended. The class would find themselves walking away from this stage of their life in just a few minutes._

_However one student, didn't seem happy about it at all._

_They left, the eager ones running to the door. It started to get crowded, so Ichigo and Orihime waited at the back._

_The former students were drained from the room in about a minute, so they followed._

"_Are you okay?" Ichigo asked as he noticed, she was looking down._

_Orihime exhaled, "No...I bet I'll get emotional now. I thought I wouldn't have too...but well, you know. Pregnancy stuff," she pouted._

_He laughed, bringing his arm up around her shoulders. "You don't have to be upset about that," he promised, quickly kissing her cheek, "you can cry as much as you want."_

_She had an almost-smile. "I'll keep that it mind."_

_**No Regrets**_

Chapter 7: Soul Society

"Urrgh," Orihime groaned.

She wiped her weary eyes and looked around the room. It was nine in the morning, so rather early for her to wake up.

Ichigo lay next to her in the bed, still sleeping. They were very young adults, nobody expected them fully awake before noon.

His eyes opened. He breathed in very deeply and turned to Orihime.

"Morning," he muttered, rolling onto his side to face her.

"Hi there..." she yawned as he pulled himself up. He leaned against the headboard of the bed, not daring to turn around. The sun was shining through the window behind his head, it would really hurt to look at that just after waking up.

She tried to sit up too. After a few attempts, she stopped and sighed. "I can't move."

"What's wrong?" he pushed his hair out of his eyes.

"It's...so huge and heavy..." she moaned, sticking one hand on her bump, the other holding her forehead.

Ichigo chuckled.

"Are you starting to regret all of this?"

She looked up at him, then winked. "No regrets," she promised.

He smiled to himself before placing his hand above hers and the bump for a moment, "Shall we go for some breakfast? I'll cook this morning."

Orihime blinked, "You know you don't have to do that."

"I'm happy to," he climbed out of bed and adjusted to the light of the sun.

"Okay then..." she sighed, it would be hard to change him just like that. For the time that he knew about her pregnancy, it became a lot harder.

He grabbed her white bath robe and put it at the end of the bed. Then he helped to pull her up.

"Hey...I was thinking, could we maybe visit the Soul Society?" she asked.

Ichigo passed the robe over to her, "Really? You need help getting out of bed, how will you get through the senkaimon?"

She pulled on the soft white material, "Well, I'm not sure..." she whispered, "but it's been such a long time. I'd like to see Rangiku and well...everybody! It's been a long time..."

"That's true...and I can always carry you through."

"W-well..." she blushed, tying up the robe and slipping her feet into the slippers right by the edge of the bed, "I'm...very heavy now, I can barely even walk I'm not really doubting you...but I think it would be hard for you to carry me, while running too."

"Don't worry about that, if you want to go, that's fine," he patted her head and proceeded through the door to construct their meal.

–

"It's ready," Tessai called.

The crowd stepped forward. "Okay, are the two of you ready?" Kisuke waved around his hand-fan, one hand holding his hat in place.

"Sure," the two humans, well, almost humans, nodded.

"Before you prepare to travel, may I speak to you for a moment, Ichigo?".

He pulled away from Tessai and Orihime to listen the 'crazy-man's' words, partly out of gratitude for letting him use his passage to the Soul Society.

"Ichigo, you need to be careful there."

"Huh?"he scratched his head, "Why? What's going on?".

Urahara's eyes were barely visible under the shadow of his hat, but his concerned glare was clear to see. "For one thing, don't just shunpo through the senkaimon. Not for the whole length, anyway. We don't know what could happen to Orihime if you do that."

"Sure, I already figured that out. How stupid do you think I am?" Ichigo groaned, being the impatient teenager he's been for such a long time.

"That's not all..."

"What else, then? ...Are you gonna tell me something like, 'even inborn children count as ryoka'?".

"Of course not. I'm going to tell you that they do possess a lot of spiritual power, and the Soul Society is overflowing with reishi."

"Okay."

Urahara sighed, straightened his hat and walked back to the others.

Ichigo stared, confused. _I'll never understand that guy, I should just face it._

He followed on quickly, standing ready to have his girlfriend and inborn children hoisted onto his back for their journey. Up until a moment about a minute on from there, he finally completely understood how hard it must have been for her to walk around.

Getting her up wasn't the hardest part, it was the weight Ichigo would have to run with, and the awkward positioning of the bump. It was just so...huge, and heavy.

It was Tuesday. Orihime had been pregnant with their twins for roughly seven months and fifteen days, and beginning to experience all of the hardest parts of...making people. The most feared was yet to come, only two months away.

Luckily, she hadn't noticed the time go by so quickly. But Ichigo certainly had.

Despite how well everything was going so far, he was convinced that it wouldn't stay like that. However at the same time, with it so close to the end, he had confidence that he was wrong. The last thing he wanted was for something bad to happen. All he wanted was his family's safety.

"Be careful, you two," Tessai spoke gruffly.

"Thanks, we will," Ichigo adjusted himself to a position where he'd be ready to run. Only four minutes. Four minutes to carry them through safely.

If only humans could use hell butterflies.

In a flash, he ran forward, into the light. They were taken the the strange world, the border between the world of the living and the Soul Society. It was a scary-looking place.

"Are you sure you can handle this?" Orihime asked nervously. One of her arms was holding onto him, across his shoulder, and the other was supporting her stomach. His own arms held up her legs, wrapped around him. Her waist was twisted to leave room for the bump.

"Of course," he huffed, "I don't think that weird _thing_ is gonna show up."

"I hope not..." she whispered, leaning into his neck.

Anybody who has experienced a run through the senkaimon can tell you, it's very tiring, and it feels like the longest run in history.

It took them roughly two minutes to make it through. That was pretty good, considering the weight Ichigo was running with. It was like a last-minute trip, pick up what you want to take and go.

The couple soon found themselves trying to determine which part of Rukongai they had arrived in. It looked very familiar, because of countless visits, including infiltrating the Seireitei to save Rukia. Despite the _Déjà vu_ atmosphere, they still couldn't interpret if it was the same place.

So the best thing to do would be to look for the gate. Which they did, and believe it or not, it was the right place.

But Jidanbō wasn't there.

This puzzled them more than any surroundings mystery, he was supposed to be guarding the gate. They wandered out into the open space and observed. A few souls lingered around the houses, but nobody surfaced from their homes.

"I'll try and ask somebody, if they know where Jidanbō is," Ichigo walked over to the civillians.

Orihime looked around. The place seemed somehow different. It had been far over a year since the run to stop the execution, many souls would have appeared here since then.

Only two people in the area actually knew her. "Orihime Inoue, correct?".

She turned around quickly, smiling at the familiar face. "Captain Hitsugaya," she greeted.

His new appearance was certainly noticeable. That was probably why she didn't really see him before, besides the fact that he was still rather small...

"What brings you to Rukongai?" he asked politely, arms crossed, looking into the distance.

"Ichigo and I are visiting the Seireitei."

"Ah, so Kurosaki is here too. I thought I sensed some strong spiritual energy around here, I guess part of that was probably you too. Though to be honest yours a lot stronger than before...but I can probably see why," he kept a straight face, his eyes still in the same place - away from her.

"Y-yes."

"Hey, Toshiro!"

Ichigo was walking back over.

The other soul reaper glared in annoyance, "How many times to I have to tell you? It's Captain Hitsugaya."

"Sure, whatever," he smirked, "So how come you're here?"

"Well, I was visiting Jidanbō, but he doesn't seem to be here."

"Oh, we were looking for him too."

–

They eventually found him, recovering in a large building not too close to the gate. Some ill-tempered Academy kid had lost it or something.

Jidanbō allowed them into the Seireitei, and now they walked through the winding streets of nothing. Toshiro realized Rangiku was also off that day, that would mean trouble.

He instructed them to listen out for a sake drinking party if they intended to find her.

It turned out there was a pretty big one that day.

Orihime held onto Ichigo's arm, waddling over to the commotion, the group of almost-drunk soul reapers.

"Hey! Well if it isn't my two favourite humans!" she cried out as they came over.

"It's been a while, Rangiku!" Orihime smiled. Rangiku automatically avoided the bump as they hugged, but she then asked, "What's with this?" she blinked excitedly.

"Oh, that would be some babies...two to be exact," she laughed.

"Wow!" she clapped and cheered, followed by the crowd of other Shinigami, "Oh my gosh! I can't believe you never told me about this before!"

Then she patted Ichigo's head over and over, "And well done you!" she laughed. He tried to smile, but it came after the second of embarrassed scowling.

It was surprising that so many soul reapers were here. But they guessed that with all the time they spent working before, a lot of them had time off. They were lucky to have come on the right day.

Behind Rangiku stood Shuhei, Izuru, Tetsuzaemon, Ikkaku, Renji and Shunsui.

"Hey, Ichigo!" Renji called. He walked over, grinning. "So I see you're one of those 'punk' things or whatever now."

"What are you talking about?"

"I heard that when guys in the world of living do stuff like that, you call them a punk, or...well, I think that was the word."

Ichigo sighed, "You've been talking to Rukia, haven't you?"

"Obviously."

The orange-haired substitute slammed his hand into his face, "Of course."

–

Later that evening, they sat out by a large lake.

The sun was setting in the Soul Society. Orihime and Ichigo sat hand-in-hand, facing the bright canvas of the sky. They were happy to hear the conversation behind them.

"They really love each other, don't they?" Rangiku said.

"Of course...I've never seen anything like that before," Rukia answered for her.

"I know the feeling..." Renji muttered quietly.

"What are you talking about?"

"Loving somebody, duh. It's painful, and extremely depressing."

"Since when did you have feelings?" Rukia mocked, glaring at the ground.

Renji looked at her. He put his hand on her shoulder, "For a long time, you ought to know that."

"Why should I-?"

He interrupted by putting his other hand at her other shoulder, then he leaned down and kissed her.

Rangiku giggled, looking around. She could see it everywhere else, too.

Shunsui was holding both of Nanao's hands, talking to her. Yet she didn't punish him for it. It obviously wasn't a normal conversation.

At another spot up the hill, she could see Toshiro and Momo. He pulled off his scarf and wrapped it around her, since it was quite cold up there. She kissed his cheek and smiled, causing him to blush and look away.

When she realized just how many pairs there were, her heart began to ache violently. If things had been different, she would have somebody too. She would have Gin.

Then she sighed. It was already past her, now. There was nothing she could do about it. A hand was place on her shoulder.

She looked around. "Hi there," Shuhei smiled above her. He sat down next to her and held out a small bottle of sake. "You were looking kind of down again,"

Rangiku grinned, "Thanks."

"Ichigo...have you ever wondered...what it'll be like when the babies come?" Orihime inquired innocently, her head resting at his neck.

"Well, sure. We probably won't be doing things like this very much, that's for sure."

"Are you unhappy about that?" she closed her eyes peacefully.

He put one hand on her bump, "Maybe, but you know that you three will always be more important. I can sacrifice this I guess."

"Do you think you'll ever regret it?"

"No regrets," he stole her line.

She smiled in the silence, but then looked a little concerned.

"If you do miss it...or if living out this life ever becomes to hard..." she shuffled her fingers nervously, "will you ever leave me?"

He was unhappy to hear her ask that question. "That's ridiculous, where would you get an idea like that?"

"Most girls..." Orihime whispered, "most girls in a situation like this end up alone by the end."

"You really think I'd leave you?"

"Maybe...you have enough reason to..."

"Orihime..."

Tears rolled down from her eyes, leaving a sparkling trail on her cheek. His hands held both sides of her face, and he kissed her.

"You don't ever need to worry," Ichigo said, "I promise, I'm not going anywhere. We can be together forever, five lifetimes and more."

–

**Yeah, _this _is the kind of mood I'm in on the day after all of the Valentine's crap. Sorry if you like it, I really don't. :P**

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter, s'got some fluff. Yay. I decided that I may as well include some other pairings I like...;D**

**Oh, and I decided to skip to seven months, because I'm running out of ideas for the pregnancy stuff. There's plenty coming after this though! Just end-of-pregnancy things, Bleach version.**

**PLEASE review! There's nothing I love more in this world! Except for maybe Ichihime and Toshiro Hitsugaya.**

**~HellYus**


	8. Reishi Withdrawals

_Previously: "If you do miss it...or if living out this life ever becomes to hard..." she shuffled her fingers nervously, "will you ever leave me?"_

_He was unhappy to hear her ask that question. "That's ridiculous, where would you get an idea like that?"_

"_Most girls..." Orihime whispered, "most girls in a situation like this end up alone by the end."_

"_You really think I'd leave you?"_

"_Maybe...you have enough reason to..."_

"_Orihime..."_

_Tears rolled down from her eyes, leaving a sparkling trail on her cheek. His hands held both sides of her face, and he kissed her._

"_You don't ever need to worry," Ichigo said, "I promise, I'm not going anywhere. We can be together forever, five lifetimes and more."_

_**No Regrets**_

Chapter 8: Reishi Withdrawals

"So will you be coming again anytime soon?"

The blonde soul reaper bounced around the scene of Ichigo and Orihime's departure from the Soul Society.

"Probably not for quite a while," she laughed, "I might not be able to walk anytime soon". Her hands held the round shape of her belly as she waddled over to Ichigo.

"All ready!" she grinned.

They both looked up at the huge gate to the senkaimon. It was colossal. At last, it was time for them to use it to return home.

For a whole week they stayed at the Soul Society. The whole seven days, time flew by them. It was a week of fun and parties, and a week closer to the arrival of the twins.

That was lucky for Orihime. She's been growing tired of waiting, getting excited, and needed events just like these to pass the time. She enjoyed being there, and there was one reason behind that nobody knew about. Well, one or two might have seen it coming.

He pulled her up onto his back and stood in front of the wall of light that would lead them home. The soul reapers waved shouting, "Goodbye!" and Ichigo ran forward.

Once again, they entered the tunnel. It felt a little strange running back, but they were partly glad to be going home. But it would _definitely _be a while before they could return.

While clinging onto Ichigo's back, Orihime glanced at the ground uneasily. She could feel a sharp pain in her chest, her head beginning to throb with aches.

Her voice didn't seem to work, either.

So she shook her head and closed her eyes, waiting for the journey to be over.

Ichigo made it through in about two minutes again, maybe not breaking his record but coming close. "We're back," he laughed, turning to look at her.

Then he stopped.

Her pale lips trembled, her chest gasped for air. She was half conscious, and a small swarm of hollows had gathered at the lower level of the dark sky. That was probably thanks to the mass of spiritual pressure beaming from Orihime's stomach.

He panicked. What was there he could do? The hospital wouldn't exactly know about spiritual engergy, or at least it was extremely unlikely.

It didn't seem like he could do anything. Quickly, he jumped down to the ground. They landed in a park, light by rather dim street lamps.

The hollows were too close for him to waste any time, he laid her down on a bench. Zangetsu was at his hand in an instant, but he was beaten to the battlefield.

A light blue arrow shot into the scene, cutting through several of the huge monsters.

"Uryu!"

"Ichigo, you idiot! Stop dawdling and help her!" the Quincy ran into the open space. He carried his huge bow, ready to destroy them all.

"What should I do?" he shouted, "She's not breathing!"

"Try CPR maybe, Dumbass!"

He shoved his head into his hands again, "Of course...".

There was no time to lose, Orihime was in danger now. He did all he could to help her, but the bright golden light of heavy spiritual pressure remained, and it was suffocating her.

It was only then that the obvious thought struck his mind. His father might be able to help.

"Where are you going?" Uryu shouted as he noticed him pick Orihime back up again, while he sprung back from the increasing amount of hollows.

"Keep them off my back, would you? I'm going to get help from my dad."

Then he ran away with her, in the direction of his, rather _their, _house. He only hoped that he was around...

Luckily, the bright sign was there, he could see it. 'Kurosaki Clinic'. They moved forward and bolted through the door.

"Dad?" he cried at the top of his lungs, "Where are you?"

The aged soul reaper came out from his office quickly, looking at Orihime. "What's happened?".

Before he explained, Isshin pushed open the door and led them to a patient room. They lay the gasping body on the bed and hooked her up to a heart rate monitor. Two minutes later, she was connected to several other machines too, but Ichigo wasn't sure what they were for.

Orihime had an oxygen supply, but the pressure was still very thick around her, flashing and lighting up the room. It wouldn't be too absurd to say it matched Kenpachi Zaraki's when he was fired up for battles.

"Forget the damn machines! What the hell is happening to her, and what can I do?".

Isshin observed her, "I'm not completely sure, but it was a mistake to stay in the Soul Society for such a long time."

"What do you mean?"

"The twins have strong spiritual energy by blood, the reishi levels there are perfect for them as they grow. In all the time you spent there, they used it like oxygen. Now that you have returned, they are struggling to maintain the energy they have gained through this. It's like walking into a room that has no oxygen, like outer space. The reishi level in Karakura Town is a hell of a lot lower than the environment they were in before."

"Just what the hell can we do about it, then?" Ichigo snapped angrily.

"Make sure Orihime is stable. As long as she is okay, they will be too. But..."

He didn't finish.

Ichigo grabbed the collar of his shirt, "What?"

"I can't promise that we can keep her alive here. We just don't have the equipment and..."

"Then we'll take her to a different place. Anywhere else, can't Uryu's dad help her?"

"Well, maybe."

He let go of his father and walked over to the bed. Orihime's face was nearly white, as if the oxygen mask strapped to her face made no difference at all. But her chest had stopped violently shaking, so she was probably safe for a while. The pressure was starting to fade a little, and he only hoped that meant the twins were adjusting the the reishi level. But with the luck he was having, it wasn't likely to be true.

Seeing Orihime lay on that bed was killing him. It was the most chest-gripping, blood-curdling and heart-wrenching sight he'd had shoved in his face since he was nine years old. After that, his mother lay dead was nothing.

–

One hour later, Orihime had been sent to Karakura Hospital. She was taken to private room, because Ryuken had been around when she entered.

He decided it was best to take her up to the top, where the pressure wouldn't harm anybody else.

"What exactly can you do to keep her alive?" Ichigo asked quietly, almost a mutter. He started at a wall, not wanting to face whatever the doctor would say.

"We can hope that the inborn twins adjust soon, or she will die."

The substitute soul reaper glared up at him, disgusted at how easy those words came out of his mouth.

"I think I should remind you that this girl is not an ordinary patient," Ryuken raised an eyebrow and Ichigo continued, "this girl may just be the most important person who's ever been in this hospital. If you're hiding some kind of treatment, anything that could help her, I suggest you tell me. I love her. If you let her die, I can't guarantee that I won't kill _you_."

"Of course," he spoke slyly, turning and walking away.

There really wasn't a lot more to do. He sat down in a large chair by her bed and picked up her hand.

For the next twenty minutes, he sat there with her hand pressed against his heart. Before then, she could make him feel better at any time. Just a smile, or a laugh, and he would feel instantly better.

It wasn't quite the same thing when she was the reason behind his tears.

The curtain was pulled open.

"Ichigo?"

Uryu walked in, pushed his glasses up his nose, and pulled it shut again.

"How is she?"

He didn't want to reply. It looked quite clear to him. "She's...okay, for now I think..."

"I see," the young Quincy sat at the other side of the bed.

The way he looked at her made Ichigo sick. It was as if he really cared.

She was his friend, he understood that. But the look on his face looked like a little more than friendship concern.

"Gotta say, your dad is just about as stubborn and annoying as you are," Ichigo mumbled.

"I believe you've told me that one before."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"A shame."

Uryu looked over at him, "This is all your fault, you know."

He leaned onto his elbow, "I know."

"Don't you hate yourself for it?"

Ichigo sighed, scowling at the wall again, "Of course I do."

"You're pathetic."

"You just asked me."

"I mean, you try so hard to protect everybody you love, and then if you can't, you act like the world will end. You could at least become a doctor or something, then maybe you'll realise that protecting your friends is beyond hollows."

"Hmph, do you want me to tell you it'd a good idea?"

"That depends."

He crossed his arms and looked up at Orihime's monitors. Ichigo would have punched him if there was an easy route right in front of him.

When the room, besides the beeping of the heart rate pattern, stayed quite silent, Ichigo finally spoke up. "Whatever, fine, I'll be a doctor then. I hate to take advice from you, but it was the first decent idea you've come up with in a while."

Uryu re-positioned his glasses again before quietly asking, "Why...?".

"What?"

"Why did you let this happen to her?"

Ichigo observed his expression, "You're testing me, aren't you?". Uryu nodded.

"Fine, it's because I'm an idiot, right?"

"Well, look at that. You _do_ pay attention, after all."

"Sometimes, to the people I actually care to listen to..." The beeping of the monitor changed.

Orihime's eyes fluttered open.

Both of them stood up and looked over her. Ichigo held her hand gently, deeply breathing at her sudden awakening.

"I-Ichigo..." she coughed under her mask. Her weak hands gripped onto his.

"Are you okay?" he asked quickly. From the way she was breathing, he could see her pain.

"I'll go and find my father..." Uryu said, walking out of the room. It was probably partly involved with his respect for Orihime. Also the part that was a little more than respect.

"I d-don't remember...why am I here?" she gasped, trying to turn onto her side, so that she could speak to him.

"Shh," he placed one hand on her frozen cheek, "don't talk. You might put yourself in even more danger."

She looked at him with questioning.

"It seems the twins are having high reishi level withdrawals."

At any other time, she might have laughed at that. Instead she tried an amused smile that was unbelievably beautiful considering the condition she was in.

Ichigo moved his hand to brush back a few strands of loose hair, before leaning down and kissing her forehead.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, "You can blame me for this one too."

She pouted and shook her head.

"Orihime...do you have any idea what might happen to you?" he held his breath.

She shook her head again.

"...A lot of different things," Ichigo sat back down in the chair, still holding onto her hands. She pulled her mask away for a second, "W-what do you mean?"

He shifted around in discomfort, "I'd rather not tell you right now. You should rest without worrying about anything."

Her sparkling eyes looked up at him with angelic plea. There wasn't much reason to rest anyway, she was too curious.

"...Okay," he gave in, "you could...maybe...well, you might not make it through this..." again for a while, he tried to hold his breath.

Once again she lifted up the mask, "And the twins...?"

"What...are they the only part of this that matters?" he asked, "Don't you...don't you care about yourself?".

"The twins will always be more important."

Ichigo sighed, placing one hand on her head with a small smile. "I guess you'll never let anybody change that."

She shook her head again.

–

"I get the feeling that this'll be a very long month," Orihime sighed.

She lay on the bed, attempting some relaxation. It was a little hard with two babies wriggling around inside of you.

Since the reishi incident, it was decided that Orihime should stay at the hospital for a while. Everybody was scared that something bad would happen again.

It was, for now, safe to assume that she would survive. Though she struggled to eat and breathe, she had all of the help she needed.

Ichigo was sat next to her, reading a book.

He spent most of his time in there, with her. She was too important to just leave to recover, he had to know she was safe all of the time.

With so many friends, he wasn't the only one. Orihime had visitors several times a day, mainly Tatsuki and Chizuru, Keigo and Mizuiro.

For about a week already, she'd been staying there. But an important day was coming up, and in a hospital bed, or whilst eight months pregnant, was not how a girl would want to spend it.

Orihime's eighteenth birthday.

–

**Surprise update! Wtf? Didn't you update earlier today?**

**Why yes, but you see, I'm such a lazy llama that I've been here, working hard on this pretty much all day! Today has been weird, or yesterday rather, I stayed up until _tomorrow_ again XD. I lose interests in activities really easily like that.**

**Soo, hope you liked! If you pleease, a review would be really awesome! I promise to love you forever if you could find the time to leave one :)**

**~HellYus**


	9. Birthday in Bed

_Previously: He spent most of his time in there, with her. She was too important to just leave to recover, he had to know she was safe all of the time._

_With so many friends, he wasn't the only one. Orihime had visitors several times a day, mainly Tatsuki and Chizuru, Keigo and Mizuiro. _

_For about a week already, she'd been staying there. But an important day was coming up, and in a hospital bed, or whilst eight months pregnant, was not how a girl would want to spend it._

_Orihime's eighteenth birthday._

_**No Regrets**_

Chapter 9: Birthday in Bed

She waited.

Orihime stared at the clock. It read at four-thirty in the morning. Her patience was fading.

It was her birthday, and she was stuck in bed. Ichigo stayed at home that night, so he could bring her a surprise in the morning. That wouldn't be for a while yet.

A yawn escaped her mouth.

The worst part of staying in a hospital was sleeping. If you couldn't drift off, you'd be awake for hours with the ticking of the clock.

Counting them certainly didn't help, it just seemed to add hundreds more onto the time until your visitors came.

Her head moved, to attempt at observing the room for an activity.

There was a vase of flowers on the table next to her bed, from Karin and Yuzu. Several belongings from her bedroom had commuted over, too. The white robe was lay over the back of a chair, and her slippers were next to her bed. Orihime's 'special pillow' was supporting her neck.

In truth, there wasn't anything special about it. She always said it was special, because she has better dreams when she sleeps with that one at the top of the pile.

Recently it wasn't working in that effect at all, so she used it just like any other.

The room contained plenty of things that were very different to the furniture in her room, too. She was quite sure she'd never had a heart rate monitor or oxygen mask by her bed.

_Hospitals are so depressing,_ she thought and sighed.

Separating her bed from the main visitor area in her room was a huge yellow curtain. Every so often she'd hear the door open, and the nurse would poke her head through the gap on the curtain, just to check on her. Most of the time, it was easier to pretend to be asleep.

At this time in the morning, nobody ever came. Until that day, at least.

Just as she began to calm down and close her eyes, the curtain swished open a small fraction.

Somebody very familiar stepped in. His bright orange hair was barely visible in the light, and his it was hard to see his face in the shadows.

"W-who's there?"

Orihime turned on the light next to her bed.

"Hiya," Ichigo murmured, stepped over and kissing her forehead.

She blinked, "What are you doing here?"

Ichigo sat down on the nearest chair, "I feel sorry for you. Being alone for that long really isn't enjoyable. Especially when there's so much to worry about."

"I don't have much to worry about, though," she smiled.

"Huh?" he looked at her eyes, "But it's your eighteenth birthday...and you have to stay in bed for it all."

"Well sure...but I have you here," the smile didn't change, it stayed right there.

He quickly remembered, reaching for his pocket. His hand retrieved a black box with a ribbon around it.

"Happy birthday," he stood up and kissed her lips for just a moment, Then he placed the box in front of her face, balancing on the mountain of sheets containing her bump.

She blushed as her eyes stared at it. From any angle, any perspective, it was already the best present she'd ever received. It was from Ichigo.

The little box was so beautiful, it felt like anything from her imagination could be inside. It made her slightly afraid to open it.

Her fingers fiddled with the latch, pushing up the lip bravely before the moment's courage drained away.

"Oh my gosh..." she gasped.

Inside the gift box was a silver necklace. It had a silver chain so tiny that it's woven exterior was as delicate and beautiful as silk. Dropping down in the middle was a flower-shaped charm.

It took her a moment to notice that it was practically a replica of her hairpins.

The main part of the silver flower was silver, just like the rest. But in the middle was a sapphire gemstone, sparkling in the light from the lamp.

Tears were welling up in her eyes. "Ichigo," she whimpered, "thank you so much," three streaks ran down her face.

The best she could do from there was shuffle a few centimetres and take his hand, sniffling and grinning.

He helped a little by bringing the hug over to her.

"Did you read the box?"

Orihime shook her head on his shoulders, then he let go of her.

She picked up the box. The inside walls were lined with soft white material.

On the 'ceiling' of it, the words 'no regrets' were written into the fabric in swirly silver text.

It was a little overwhelming to her.

For the next minute, she cried into her hands. When she finally looked up, Ichigo was sat at the edge of her bed.

Before she could say anything, he kissed her.

–

"Happy birthday, Orihime!" Yuzu sang as she bounced through the door.

At last, the hands of the clock had reached nine. Finally, something fun could happen.

Karin, Yuzu and Isshin arrived with some gifts, cards and a balloon. All of the typical birthday objects.

The gorgeous silver necklace around her neck was the main attraction among everything. It was better that it stayed there, too. If she looked at it too much, the tears would start up again.

Isshin went to find Ryuken as the girls sat down.

"So Orihime, you like Ichigo's gift?" Karin grinned.

"Absolutely!" she smiled in reply, "I love it!"

"We helped him pick it out," Yuzu chirped, "it just seemed so perfect because it's just like your hairpins."

"Mmhm," she nodded.

Then her hands moved to feel her belly. The twins were wriggling around again, just like almost every other second of every other day. It often began with cheerful conversations, or any time she was happy or wide-awake.

To keep distracted, she decided to open some birthday cards. It made more sense than giggling at the tickling feeling of the babies' movements.

In the last month, envelopes had been piling up back at the house. She was surprised to find that there was so many.

They had been sent by Tatsuki, Chad, Uryu, Chizuru, Keigo, Mizuiro, Yuzu and Karin, Mahana, Michiru, Ryo and a few distant relatives. She was happy to see that she still had friends, even though it had become harder to see them.

After reading every single word she could find, she placed the pile and the table and lay back. Her eyes flickered to a close and she sighed.

"Something wrong?" Ichigo glanced over at her.

"No...not really. I'm just a little tired now," she yawned.

Yuzu looked at Karin quickly, "Hey Karin, why don't we go and get some breakfast at the Cafeteria?"

"Oh, s-sure," the other sister followed her to the door.

"You didn't eat before you came?" Ichigo asked.

"No, we just woke up and came right here to see Orihime."

The subject smiled, her eyelids still folded down. She heard them leave quickly, trying to let her rest. It was adorable, in her mind.

Ichigo got up and looked out of the small window.

"How long have you been here already?".

Orihime opened her eyes and began to count on her fingers, "Umm...a week? Or two? I'm not sure, they're all just empty days to me...why do you ask?"

"I'm just sympathizing, I guess," he turned back around to her, "and also, another question..."

"Hm?"

His eyes looked intensely into her face. "...Do you think I would be a good doctor?"

Surprisingly, he really had considered it, even though it was Uryu who had given him the idea. It sounded like like a decent thing to do with his life, since it was all still undecided.

"Sure!"

"That was fast," Ichigo's eyes closed, "don't you have doubts at all?" they opened again.

She shifted positions in the bed, bringing up her knees as far as the bump would allow, "None at all. I think you could be a great doctor! A-and that would be good for the babies, right?"

"Medical training takes a lot of time, though," he walked over the the bed, "I'd have to wait months before I start. I don't want to just leave you with the twins, I want to be there to help you. The only thing that concerns me a little is that I would have to enter behind everybody else...most people are starting new courses right about now."

"I don't think it'd take you long to catch up, though. You achieved Bankai in three days, right?" she giggled.

He sat down in the chair, nodded quickly and relaxed. It was probably best not to argue the differences of soul reaper training and medial training.

–

"Orihime!"

The voice was echoing around the whole, near-empty top floor of the hospital. Unfortunately, it had just reached the point that both 'humans' in the occupied room had fallen asleep. At last.

"Orihime!"

It called again.

For a moment, she could feel the twins. Her eyes immediately shut as she winced through the strong kicking.

As the bearer of the name's eyes flickered open, the door bust open. Then a familiar face poked through the curtains, and grinned triumphantly.

"Everybody, I found her!" Rangiku shouted back.

She walked in, followed by Rukia, Renji, Toshiro and Shuhei.

"Hey, there you are!" the second-smallest shinigami spoke up, flashing over to hug her.

Rukia stood back after their embrace, looking at Ichigo. "He's asleep?"

"Oh, yeah..." Orihime replied, watching nervously as Renji wandered over.

The tall man smirked, leaning over him just a little, "Hey Ichigo!"

His eyes shot open, as he rolled off the chair and onto the cold floor. "Gyaah! What the hell?"

Renji laughed and stepped back over to the other soul reapers.

"What are you guys doing here?"

"Visiting Orihime, of course!" Rangiku exclaimed as her eyes moved over to her, "Happy birthday!"

"Thank you!" she chuckled.

–

It took a while for the group to get Rangiku away. She got a little over-excited, as birthdays really aren't so special when you're expecting one hundred of them.

Tatsuki and the others made their appearance too. They showed up at five.

Now it was seven, and everybody had left. Only Ichigo remained sat with her, just like always. Both of them were exhausted from all of the excitement.

Orihime was out of bed, digging through her bag. It was rare that she could stand up, so whenever she wanted to, it was best to do whatever she could.

Whenever she did want something, she would probably get it anyway. She had Ichigo.

Right now, she wanted to take a shower, so she was looking for a towel. There was a private bathroom to her room, which wasn't really a privilege, but she was happy about it. However tired she was, it didn't matter. She was determined to shower.

"I found it!" she shouted out, holding up the towel with a triumphant face.

"Congratulations," Ichigo laughed. She was right next to him on the ground, so he pulled her up.

"Finally..." she teared up, "do you have any idea how long I have searched for this?"

He looked up at the clock, "Actually I do," he did the math in his head quickly, "seven minutes."

She placed one hand at her heart, "It was a courageous journey...and I made it in the end."

"Okay..." he smirked, "do you need any help?"

"I'll be fine!" she smiled, then it changed. "...Ouch."

By protective instinct, he stood up and placed a hand at her shoulder, "What's wrong?"

"Um...nothing, I think," she studied the previous few seconds, "something just hurts, that's all."

"Well, shouldn't you be concerned? I'll go and get a nurse..." he tried to walk away.

"Wait," she grabbed his hand, "I'm fine, it's gone now. Don't worry."

Ichigo looked at her very intently, "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure," she promised.

Her grip on his arm released and she continued on into the bathroom.

It was quite a small room. There was a sink, toilet and shower, that was it really. Across the floor and walls were plain white tiles, and there was also a window with blinds.

Following her sigh, she started to take of her clothes.

In the hospital, she hated changing. There was always the constant feeling of being watched, everywhere you went. But then, she knew it wasn't true, so after the suspicion left her mind, she was fine.

The towel was wrapped around her, very short at the bottom. It made her a little uncomfortable, but nobody was there. Her bump seemed to cause the distortion here, and she started to wonder in the towel would be a little longer if it wasn't there. That then led to how long it would be there for...

She started to wonder, _will I miss being pregnant?_

It was easy to image herself saying something like that, but there were many things about pregnancy that she hadn't enjoyed. For one thing, she was a teenager, it was a rather different situation to what one would consider a normal pregnancy.

And the hardest part was right around the corner.

Her breathing picked up, the beating of her heart suddenly becoming more painful. It was a lot like the time before, the event that sent her to that very hospital in the first place.

Suddenly, it felt like her eyes were on fire. They snapped shut as she trembled, falling down at the expense of her weak knees.

She could feel it inside of her, the most violent contraction a human could possibly feel. It was pain like she'd never felt before. Not the exhaust from her first battle with a hollow, or getting knocked down by Yammy, not even watching Ichigo die for her was as painful as this.

There was nothing that gave her any clue what to do next. Her hands gripped onto her stomach, as if it could stop the feeling that made her want to tear out her heart.

The only option left was the same thing that she'd almost always done. She usually felt bad about it, but this time it was the _only _thing in front of her.

With her last breath, she cried out.

"Ichigo!"

–

**Awful writing there at the end, I know.**

**I was totally stuck, but this was how I wanted to finish the chapter. There's only one more day until I go back to school, so I hoped to finish this one tonight, then maybe finish, or write a good chunk of the next one tomorrow.**

**Homework, though. D: Such a stupid distraction with no benefit!**

**Do you know how that makes me feel? Furious! Outraged! Sick with anger!**

**...Any Zelda fans? No...? Okay then...**

**I'd love to see some reviews! Please tell me what you think, and maybe share what you're expecting in the next chapter!**

**~HellYus**


	10. Time

_Previously: She could feel it inside of her, the most violent contraction a human could possibly feel. It was pain like she'd never felt before. Not the exhaust from her first battle with a hollow, or getting knocked down by Yammy, not even watching Ichigo die for her was as painful as this._

_There was nothing that gave her any clue what to do next. Her hands gripped onto her stomach, as if it could stop the feeling that made her want to tear out her heart._

_The only option left was the same thing that she'd almost always done. She usually felt bad about it, but this time it was the only thing in front of her._

_With her last breath, she cried out. _

"_Ichigo!"_

_**No Regrets**_

Chapter 10: Time

The shinigami-human burst through the door.

His eyes grew wide as he saw the sight that he had feared an anticipated for a long time. Orihime was lay screaming on the ground.

She had dropped her towel, now only curled up and clenched her belly.

It was so sudden, Ichigo couldn't full process what was happening. There was only thing that his mind told him to do.

He ran for the doctor, nurse, or anybody. Somebody had to help her, but then he realized there was only one person in the hospital with a chance of that.

Next to her bed was an emergency button, the quickest way to get Ryuken. Without any thoughts on patience, he slammed his fist at it several times before giving it a chance to do it's job.

The next thought was to go back to Orihime, he ran through the door and wrapped his arms around her.

Some aspects of this were just like before, when they returned from the Soul Society. It was as if the oxygen in the air had just disappeared around her. He could see her struggling, gasping for air while trying to scream.

There wasn't anything she could say, no way to explain how this had happened. It was very sudden.

He stood up and carried her back to the bed, laying her down and covering her with a blanket. Her trembling fingers pulled it up to ensure that nothing was showing.

"It's...it's going to be alright," a tear rolled down his cheek, but he couldn't promise the words he gave her.

She tried to open her eyes, ignoring the pain. But it felt as if somebody had injected poison into her body, though she knew that wasn't the truth.

In reality, over the past forty-eight hours, she knew very well that something was happening. She just didn't want to worry anybody, so it was kept to her mind only.

That was a mistake.

If people had been paying close attention, they might have noticed that the 'strong kicks' were a little too strong for what she had named them.

Ryuken walked through the door slowly, and Ichigo looked at him with disgust.

"Is that seriously the pace you've been walking at?" he snapped, "Didn't I make it clear with the ringing that this is an emergency?"

"Oh no, you did. Very clear."

He scowled and turned back to Orihime, "Something is wrong, right? You have to tell me!"

The Quincy looked over her carefully, "Well she's in labour, if you class that as a problem."

"Obviously she's in labour! I'm not stupid!" he shouted, "Somebody just needs to do something about it!"

"I'm not currently sure if there's anything I can do," he re-positioned his glasses, similar to Uryu, "right now it's all about how long she's been in labour. It's almost definite that it's been going on for a while, from my calculations."

"I don't want your _calculations_," Ichigo growled, "Just do something, quickly! Can't you see that she's almost dying?"

"Indeed, I can see."

He hated him. The hate he had before then increased, forming a mega-hate scowl on his face.

Then a loud cracking sound came from Orihime.

In the past few moments, the crying out had become less common. But now, she produced a high-pitched scream that echoed throughout several floors of the hospital.

Ichigo stared into an empty space.

"What...are they snapping her bones now?" he choked.

"Possibly, we don't know that right at this moment," Ryuken walked over to Orihime, looking down at her.

The man just behind him was breaking into pieces, every corner of his minds turning over and spinning in circles.

"Do something."

"What do you expect me to do?"

"To keep her alive, that's what hospitals to, right?" Ichigo spat, facing him with a look of concentrated pain plastered across his face, "I think it's clear that she can't breathe."

"All we can do now is wait. When she is strong enough to talk, we can then determine what actions are necessary,"

"You're pathetic," he muttered.

Ryuken looked right past his insult and strapped the oxygen mask back onto Orihime's face. "Call me again when she's able to talk to you. It may be an hour or so. I want you to ask her how long she's been putting off labour."

"You think it's been going on for a while?"

"It looks like at least a day," he said, walking away.

Ichigo slumped down into the chair, wanting to scream at the top of his lungs.

Orihime was quite still now that she had definite access to oxygen, he was glad to see that at least. But the image of her lay writhing in pain in a hospital bed was still far from a peaceful picture.

_Have you been keeping something from me?_

If she was awake, he would have asked her that directly. Whenever she kept secrets, it usually lead to trouble. Maybe most of the time it was bad luck, but that wasn't the matter for this case.

He couldn't help but doubt that she had been in labour for a long time, but he felt stupid that there was a chance he hadn't noticed it.

Again, the door flew open and Uryu ran in.

His heavy breathing suggested that had ran, and that kind of annoyed Ichigo.

"What's going on?" he coughed, "Is she okay?"  
>"Does it look like she's okay?" Ichigo retorted.<p>

"Not exactly."

"Then why did you ask?"

"It's an automatic reaction. And shouldn't you be getting this fixed? It's you who caused all of this," Uryu pushed up his glasses, like his father had earlier.

"You keep saying it like I'm happy about it."

"Are you?"

"No!"

Ichigo slid down in the chair like a sulking child. His arms were loosely crossed over his chest and he scowled up at Uryu.

"What are you doing here, anyways?"

"Making sure your stupid actions haven't killed one of my friends."

"Oh, so she's just a friend to you?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Seriously?" he scoffed, "It might be growing less obvious now, but I swear you used to like her!"

"So what if I did?"

"Nothing, it just looks like it hasn't changed all that much."

"That has nothing to do with this situation."

"Then why did you come running here?"

That left a silence in the room. Uryu decided not answer, sitting down in the chair at the opposite side to Ichigo. It was a smart decision.

Ever since they had become not just a couple, but friends, he was very protective over Orihime. She was fragile and clumsy, it was so easy for her to hurt herself. That was a worry to everybody.

Now she was lay, possibly even dying, on that bed.

One hour later, Uryu finally decided to speak.

"Why is she naked?"

Ichigo squinted while looking straight ahead. "I was wondering when you'd ask that, considering how you were staring at her before."

Uryu looked over at him, the reflection of his glasses covering his eyes, but it was clear he'd be glaring. "You are by far the most frustrating person I know."

"That's great," he huffed, closing his eyes.

Another moment of silence passed before Uryu put his head down, "You ruined her life."

The next few minutes seemed a little shorter than usual, "I know."

"And yet you do nothing to show regret," he sighed.

"It's better that we don't regret it..."

"Just what the hell do you mean by that?" his voice was raised.

Ichigo stood up, "How are we supposed to be parents if we regret having the twins?" he shouted.

"Please...stop..." came a weak, gentle voice.

Both of their heads turned quickly. Orihime's eyes were open, her heart beating.

"Orihime!" Ichigo was right at her side, holding her head, looking up and down her.

"It's okay...I'm okay..." she whispered.

Uryu didn't look directly at them, he turned to the door. "I'm leaving," were the last words he said before walking away.

"Orihime...have you...really been in labour all day?" he touched her cheek, even though most of her face was covered by the mask.

She looked up at him carefully. Her eyes were sparkling, but her expression was full of guilt. "I think it's been going on since yesterday morning..."

"Why didn't you say anything...?" he didn't look angry, but hurt.

"At first...it just seemed like strong kicking," her breathing was at least almost back to normal, "...but I didn't think it was a contraction. I wondered about it, but then I though...that if it was, maybe something was wrong. It really didn't hurt that much at all. I didn't want to...admit to myself that something might be wrong. That's way I kept it...from you and everybody else. I'm sorry..."

"You don't...have to apologise, "Ichigo buried his face in the locks of her hair that lay out across the pillow.

"I-"

She stopped again, blinking. Her eyes shifted down to her bump, which she was firmly holding onto again. The next contraction was beginning.

By instinct, Ichigo smacked to button to call for Ryuken. He _had_ told him to call once she was awake.

"No need for that," he said by the door.

"How are you here already?"

"Uryu told me to come, because she's awake, as I see"

"Yes, awake and contracting, so you can help now!" had he been an animal, he would have snarled those last few words.

"Did you ask her?"

"She told me that she thinks it started yesterday, in the morning."

Ryuken's eyes widened, "In that case, we need to get her into delivery."

"Now?"

"Yes. We don't know what could happen from here on out."

The Ouincy walked away quickly to fetch some people to take her. If this was a normal situation, he should have checked that she had dilated enough for delivery. Ichigo was glad he didn't actually mention it, but suddenly the image was in his head.

_Well now I feel sick._

Orihime held his hand.

"We have to go now?"

"Yes...but don't worry, I'll be there. I won't let them do anything to you or the twins."

Ryuken then walked in with a syringe.

"That's typical..." Ichigo muttered.

"We'll need to inject this into her before we can take her to another floor."

"What is it?"

There was a strange blue liquid inside. It looked a little scary.

"This will mute the spiritual pressure. It's dangerous to have it flying all over the place down there, it could harm the normal humans. This may also make the delivery a little easier, you should be able to breathe just fine without all of that energy suffocating you."

"Thank you..." she trembled, starting at the syringe.

"We must do this quickly, before they take you into delivery."

He took her arm and searched for a vein. Ichigo had her holding onto his hand, she would obviously be scared.

Then Ryuken found a spot and prepared the needle.

It was just an inch away from her skin, half an inch, a quarter of an inch, and...

"Ouch!" the needle pierced through her skin.

The cry wasn't hers, it was Ichigo. She was holding on so tightly that she nearly crushed his hand.

All three of them had heard the snap, probably a bone breaking. Ichigo held up his hand, panicking and looking from Orihime to Ryuken and back again.

"I'm sorry!" she squeaked as the syringe was taken out, and replaced with a band aid.

"I think you broke my hand..." he stared at it, eyes filling up at the corners.

Orihime looked down to grab her hairpins, before she remembered that she only had the blanket covering her. At that point, she started to blush.

She grabbed her hairpins, which she remembered were right next to her on the table, and healed his hand, apologizing throughout the whole twenty seconds it took.

Then she put them down quickly as the team of doctors came to take her.

At that very moment, another contraction started. But it was normal. She just breathed through it, and it was over like that. The spiritual-pressure-muting-syringe thing had actually worked, but she wasn't surprised.

For the first time in a while, it felt like a completely normal pregnancy.

The doctors instructed Ichigo to wait, as they had to get Orihime in a medical gown. She was then taken to a room in the Delivery Ward.

It was very similar to the other room, plain and simple, yet quite large. They got her onto the bed and set up the room.

Ichigo's eyes didn't go far from Orihime, but he looked with confusion at the two hospital cribs. Until then, he had only been concerned about her safety.

But now, he had just opened his eyes the the fact that they were about to enter parenthood.

He stood right next to her as they prepared to start the delivery. She was scared, he could see it right there in her eyes. Both of them had worried about this from the beginning.

"You know...everything is gonna be fine...right?" Ichigo gently rubbed her hand.

She placed one hand up at his cheek, "I'm only worried about you."

"Why?"

"Because in a few minutes you're probably going to learn how completely disgusting childbirth really is," she attempted a smile, but it was barely an expression.

"Orihime, are you ready to start now?" the doctor pulled on some plastic gloves.

She sighed, "Y-yes. I think so."

"Then let's get into position."

All they had to wait for now was the next contraction. They had been coming every thirty seconds, it wouldn't long.

Ichigo didn't dare to let go of her hand, not for anything. He wasn't sure if he had any interest in watching the birth, only comforting her.

As the contracting sped up, he felt her hand starting to grip his tighter and tighter. By now, he didn't care if she broke his hand. Orihime had to keep breathing, that was all that mattered.

"Okay, we'll tell you when to start pushing."

The doctor was sat at the foot of the bed as she raised her knees. Now wasn't the time to show the usual Orihime characteristics. It was still strange though. There was a doctor right _there, staring_ and she couldn't care less.

Nobody in that room had any idea how long it would take. They just had to get through it. Once all of this was over, they would have two little people. After that, it seemed like everything would be okay. But at this stage, anything could happen.

"Looks like you can start pushing now."

It began.

She started trying to push. At first she thought it'd be fine, until she realized how much energy it took.

"You're doing just fine, keep going. I can see a head now, almost here."

Ichigo counted, just twelve seconds later, a loud cry echoed in the room,

It was coming from where the doctor was sitting, he held the tiny little blood-covered body of their child.

_That's...my...son, _he kept thinking, while staring at the wriggling creature. This was a moment that he would remember for the rest of his life.

The doctor cut his umbilical cord and passed him away to be cleaned. At the back, the nurses wrapped him up and laid him down in one of the plastic/metal cribs.

From the bed he could see the strands of dark, soft hair on his head. It was a surprise, they'd both taken a guess at more orange.

His mind wandered away for a little too long. Orihime cried out in pain. Her hair was dark with sweat and her eyes were tired. Ichigo had no idea how, but he seemed to miss whatever was happening.

"You just have to keep pushing! Don't think about the baby, just keep going!"

"I can't!" she cried, "I can't any more!"

Ichigo snapped back into the moment and tightened his grip on her hand, "You can try, right? You can do this for the baby, can't you...?"

"There really isn't time for that!" the doctor said, "The baby is stuck, if you don't push, you'll probably die. There's no time for a C section, you just need to push it out, right now."

Not great encouragement.

"I...I can't do it..." she whispered.

This situation was no longer related to spiritual pressure, or anything like that. Orihime was eighteen years old. She'd always lacked physical strength, in most aspects, but now she needed it to save two lives.

"Is there really nothing you can do?" Ichigo shouted at the doctor, who shook his head.

"She's practically choosing to die here."

There was almost a silence, besides Orihime's heavy breathing.

Ichigo wanted to scream, or anything that could rid of him frustration. He took her other hand and leaned over, looking into her eyes.

"You're not trying to kill yourself, right? You can't do that!" he whispered.

She had tears flowing in every direction, unable to keep herself together. "I just can't...push...any more..." she spoke in shaky voice.

"You have to!" he cried, finding his own tears again, "I promised you that we could stay together forever, right? You have to help me make sure we can! You have to...". He kissed her, in every available spot he could find on her face.

Orihime stared blankly at the ceiling, with no idea what she could say. There was only one action left.

She tried to push again, without a lot of effort. She wanted the strength to do as he said, but it was difficult to find.

"Orihime, you need to push harder than that," the doctor said, "If you're really trying to save your baby, you'll need to try with more effort."

Ichigo kept his hold on her hand and he stepped forward, almost next to the doctor. "Will you let me see out second baby be born?" he tried to persuade her, "You'll let me, right?"

"I-I.." she stuttered, "...Okay."

"So you'll push as hard as you can?"

"I will..."

The doctor tried to encourage her, "Come on, then. Let's get your other baby out before it's too late."

Orihime took a deep breath and pushed with all of the strength she could muster.

"And again."

She tried again, with a little less determination.

"It's almost over, just one more big push, Orihime."

With all of her desire to see her twins in mind, she inhaled and screamed out as she used up the very last of her energy.

At last, the cry of the second baby was heard. The second son, was finally there with them.

"He's here..." Ichigo whispered, looking down at the little human and smiling.

Then he looked up at Orihime, who was trying to recover the energy to look at him. Without any other words, he moved back up and kissed her lips.

–

**Update! Yeyz. I didn't know if I'd be able to finish this or not, but I guess so! School starts again tomorrow...so I've been here all day writing this extra-long chapter in hope that it won't seem so terrible, because I'm assuming the updates will be less-common once I'm back into school.**

**Right now, I need sleep! Writing scenes like this is difficult, I have no idea what to write because I've never experienced it. That's why it turned out pretty bad.**

**All I know about is cat birth, which I had to be stupid and research now that I'm suspecting that this cat sat right here on my lap is pregnant...sigh.**

**Well, a review would be nice! Please, please, do tell me what you think! Tomorrow I will wake up and check my inbox for reviews, I really hope to see some there, it might make going back to school less painful! :)**

**~HellYus**


	11. Welcome to the World

_Previously: Orihime took a deep breath and pushed with all of the strength she could muster._

"_And again."_

_She tried again, with a little less determination._

"_It's almost over, just one more big push, Orihime."_

_With all of her desire to see her twins in mind, she inhaled and screamed out as she used up the very last of her energy._

_At last, the cry of the second baby was heard. The second son, was finally there with them._

"_He's here..." Ichigo whispered, looking down at the little human and smiling._

_Then he looked up at Orihime, who was trying to recover the energy to look at him. Without any other words, he moved back up and kissed her lips._

_**No Regrets**_

Chapter 11: Welcome to the World

It had been many long hours since the birth, and Orihime was still completely exhausted.

She was now staying in a small room intended for after-birth stays. Soon after the delivery, she had fallen asleep, and that was when they moved her here.

Now, it was nine in the morning, the following day. She was sat awake, stressed about how much she had missed. Where were her babies? It was impossible not to wonder.

To that point, nobody had told her anything, nobody _came _and explained it to her. Had they forgotten, somehow?

Then she saw Ichigo sleeping. He was on a chair, the same style as the ones from her previous room. That thought made her realize just how long she'd been in the hospital.

She hadn't been outside in weeks. By the time they let her out, she would probably have forgotten where she lived.

Orihime sighed, maybe a little too loudly. She lay back in the comfortable bed, appreciating it much more than the one from the other room. Maybe that was because this time, she wasn't heavily pregnant and frustrated about being kept in one room for an intended month.

"You're awake?"

Ichigo's eyes had opened. He stretched and yawned, straightening his back from the awkward position. "Are you okay, Orihime?"

She started to cry, "You..." she sobbed, "I had a dream, and there was a dragon...he nearly ate you."

"It's nice to see nothing has changed now that you're a Mom," he laughed.

Orihime blinked, a little shocked to hear the name. "I..." she whispered, "Where...where are they?"

"They..." he stopped, "rather, _our twins, _are in the Nursery, or being tested. Ryuken said it would be best to make sure that everything is okay before they let us see them."

"Okay..." she calmed a little, "What...happened? I can barely remember anything about last night...just screaming and pain."

Ichigo looked at the ground, "Maybe it's better that you don't remember too much."

"What do you mean?"

He stood up, walked over, and brushed a hand against her cheek. "You almost gave up your life."

She looked a little confused.

"With the second baby, there was a struggle. You didn't have enough energy to push any more, so we had to persuade you..."

"That's one thing I do remember," she thought about it.

"You do?"

"Yes," Orihime smiled, "and I'm sorry. From now on I'll do whatever I can to make sure we can stay together."

"Always good to know," Ichigo leaned in and kissed her.

After that, he sat back down in the chair and offered to answer her questions.

"Okay, so did you watch one of the babies being born in the end?" she laughed.

"Number two," he smiled, thinking back at it. The smile disappeared as he recalled what she meant about how disgusting it was, even though he hadn't cared or taken any notice at the time.

"So...oh, hey! What genders are they? I don't remember anybody saying that last night, and I never even saw the babies."

Ichigo grinned, "We have two baby boys."

"Oh my gosh, really?" she sat up in the bed, "Well we have to think of names!"

"Right, how did we never think about that before? All those times when we were bored in the other room, we could have come up with some then."

"Well now it a perfect time! We're only waiting to see them, our sons!" Orihime no longer felt tired. She was hyped-up about the details of her twins.

"Okay then, what were you thinking of before? I doubt you never thought about it at all. You probably imagined it in the two months you were gone, right?"

"Well, I did think about it. But all I could think of then was a baby boy with bright orange hair nd brown eyes, did that one come true?"

"I didn't really have a close look, but I remember seeing dark hair, black or brown."

"Wow, I wasn't expecting that," she giggled, "I can't imagine it!"

"You'll see soon enough," he promised, "I think we can see them this morning, as long as the test results come back okay. I don't have any doubts, though."

"Yes, I think they only like causing trouble when inside people," she looked down.

This had never crossed her mind, not even a brief thought. There was no longer a huge bump there, just a slightly expanded stomach.

"You've only just noticed that it's gone?" Ichigo laughed.

"Well, I never thought about it. Within the last few months I just started expecting it to be there, it's really weird now that it's gone."

"But no regrets, right?"

"Never," Orihime lay back again, raising her hands to hold the charm of her necklace.

They continued on with their questions and answers for the next thirty minutes, before a nurse entered the room.

"Miss Inoue, would you like to see your twins now?" she asked, "The test results are fine, it's okay for you to meet them now."

"Yes, please! That would be wonderful," she smiled in greeting to the friendly young woman.

The nurse looked at Ichigo, "Would you like to help me bring them in?" she asked.

"Oh, right, sure."

He followed her away to the Nursery.

She couldn't help but grin excitedly to herself. Finally, the worst part was over. Now she was a Mom.

"Orihime!"

Rukia bounced through the door, "You're awake!"

"Y-yes! What are you doing here?" she accepted the embrace that her friend offered at the side of her bed.

"Ichigo called me about an hour ago, so I came as quickly as I could. But you were still sleeping...so I bought some juice! Then when I came back up, you still hadn't woken up, so I got this," she held out a leaflet, "I found it near the main desk downstairs."

As she held it out, Orihime read the title. It said 'Naming Your Baby'.

"Were you somehow listening when me and Ichigo were talking about this earlier?" she laughed.

"I just saw it and thought it might come in useful if you haven't already picked names yet," Rukia smiled, "Speaking of Ichigo, where is he?"

"He went with the nurse," she said, "they'll be here any minute now. She told us that we can see the babies."

"Really? That's good, I'd like to see them!" she grinned.

Just two minutes later, they walked in with the cribs. Orihime tried not to look inside, only at the metal and wheels that held up the plastic-framed beds.

"I'll leave you alone then," the nurse smiled, returning to the corridor.

"Are you ready to see them, Orihime?" Ichigo pushed the cribs into the empty space, walking around quickly to the side of her bed. As she nodded, he helped her out.

She was a little wobbly on her legs, most of the last few weeks had been spent lay down, due to the twins she had to carry around.

He kept his hands on her shoulders as they proceeded slowly across the room. At the point in which she was one step away from a view of the babies, her hands got ready to cover her face.

Orihime bounced forwards one more step, and she could already feel it coming.

Inside she saw two perfect little humans, dressed in blue babygrows, hats and socks. They were very quiet, sleeping contently in the cribs.

She knew herself too well, the tears started flowing.

Their sparkling blue eyes then opened and looked up at her. Orihime leaned over, taking in every possible detail she could see in front of her.

"Oh, they're awake?" Ichigo stepped around to the other side, smiling down.

"This one just woke up," soon after she said that, the other one opened his eyes.

"Do you want to hold one of them?"

"Can we do that?"

Ichigo moved again, to the crib that was just further away from her, "Sure. The nurse said we could, when they woke up."

She looked at him with hesitation, "I-I don't really know...how."

With a little help from Ichigo, she then lifted the tiny body out of the crib and nestled him into her arms.

"Hi..." she whispered to him, new tears beginning to fall, "welcome to the world."

Just a metre away, Ichigo picked up the other. "I might be acting like I know what I'm doing here, but you know I'm completely freaking out, right?" he pulled the baby in closer to his chest.

"I figured that this would be quite different in your head," she smiled, never taking her eyes away from her holding partner.

Rukia sat down and watched them, cradling the babies as they sub-consciously started to sway a few centimetres to each side.

"So do you guys have any names already?" she flicked through the naming leaflet.

"Not yet, but I think I'm getting some ideas..." Orihime laughed, starting to properly rock the baby from side to side.

Ichigo managed to look up, "I remember thinking once, that it'd be funny if their names began with 'K', so it would be 'K Kurosaki' or..."

Neither of them had some much about the surnames, not wanting to raise the thoughts of marriage right away.

"A name with 'K' sounds good," Orihime said quickly, just in case it happened then.

She watched carefully at the expression on Ichigo's face, "It's okay if you freak out, as long as you don't drop him."

He smiled at her, "I think I can hold it back for a while, maybe when we get home and it all turns into reality. Right now, I'm testing a theory."

"What's that?"

"I'm hoping that if I don't show how freaking scared I am right now, you won't either."

Orihime missed the sentence, an important idea had formed in her head.

"I have a name!" she said quickly.

"I'm all ears."

She stepped backwards and sat at the edge of the bed, and looked up at Ichigo and Rukia. "How about...Kiyoshi?"

Rukia flicked through the 'K' pages, "Pure?".

"Yes!" a cheerful flame burned in her eyes.

"That's not bad, I like it," Ichigo responded, trying to think of something for the twin that he was holding, "I can't think of anything for this guy, really. It's harder than you'd think."

"Are you thinking of 'K' names? It's cute if both of them have that," Rukia said.

"Sure...then how about..."

"Kazuki?" she read from the page.

"...Isn't that harmony and hope? It's kinda girly..."

"Kaoru?"

"What, are you kidding me? That's..."

"Fragrance."

"Exactly!"

Rukia threw the leaflet at his face, "Whatever, can I hold the baby?" she jumped over to him.

"Fine, fine..."

Ichigo passed him on to her carefully, "Hold up his head," he muttered.

"I know!"

With his hands free, he picked up the pages and pages of names, which had landed on the floor. He searched through until something caught his eye.

"How about...Katsuo?"

Orihime looked at him, eyes squinting a little as she thought about it. She inhaled deeply, looking serious. "That's...a great idea!"

Ichigo looked at her, confused. "Really?"

"Yes!"

Then he felt half the size of the others, "Well what was with the serious face...?" he muttered in a small voice.

"So what does the name mean? Is the 'O' on the end as in, hero?" Rukia asked.

"It seemed to fit with the 'Katsu', which is victory."

"Great idea, like I said!" Orihime beamed.

She hopped up, holding the baby as still as she could. Then she travelled to the spot next to Rukia, "So we have Kiyoshi and Katsuo!".

–

"Finally I can leave this place!"

Orihime was packing up her belongings, preparing to return home.

The babies had been born a week ago, so she'd spent altogether about a month staying in the hospital. Quite fed up of the boring walls and disgusting food, she was one-hundred percent ready to go home.

Most of the time, it hadn't been much fun. Two weeks, she had been heavily pregnant with two twins, and several things made that distressing. The first, she was a teenager. Secondly, these were two twins with abnormally high spiritual pressure. Third and finally, she'd spent her eighteenth birthday bored in there, in labour during the whole day.

There were, of course, some good aspects, too. Like her birthday gift, the necklace. She'd also had many visitors, especially at her birthday. Though it was suspected that the visit from the Shinigami may have cause the sudden heightened contractions, leading to the birth.

"Are you sure everything is ready? It'd be a pain to have to come back just to fetch a sock or something, you didn't leave any lying around, right?" Ichigo checked.

Sometimes it scared her, how well he knew what to expect. Before he noticed, she shoved the sock she'd found a minute before into the side-pocket of her bag.

"...I should probably get dressed."

He glanced over at her, "That would be good, but how did you forget that?"

"I was collecting socks..." she admitted guiltily.

Quickly, she unzipped the bag and pulled out the clothes at the top. Her knee-length pink skirt and white pullover jumper were lay nearest to the top.

For a few seconds, she looked down at the clothing. In other words, she tried to innocently give a message. Ichigo laughed and turned to face the wall.

As fast as possible, she switched from her pyjamas into the chosen outfit. "All ready! What's next on the to-do list?"

He turned back around, to the clock, "Hmm...the thing I was supposed to do five minutes ago."

She stared with question.

"It's not too late. My dad was gonna bring the stroller, I was supposed to go and get it, he's probably still there, though."

Ichigo made his way to the door and walked out, quick-paced. Hopefully Isshin was still waiting. Orihime wasn't sure what she had to do, though. And it was never a good idea to give her a list of plans, she'd never remember. Ichigo had tried to organize their departure himself, it just made more sense.

Guessing at what to do next made more sense that waiting around for him to return, so she sat down to think about it.

Part of the plan that had stuck in her head, was that they were going to get the twins once they had the stroller and had checked with a receptionist, that it was okay to leave. Part of hospital policy, apparently.

It wasn't long before her thinking turned into daydreaming, and Ichigo came back in five minutes with the double-stroller, folded up. "Ready?"

She fell from the world of fantasy, "Huh? ...Oh yes!"

Ichigo held open the door as Orihime grabbed her bag and swayed through, blushing at her own ignorance. "Thank you," her voice almost cracked.

He chuckled to himself and followed her through to the Nursery. It took a while for them to figure out how to unfold the stroller, but a few minutes later they had both of the twins inside. They still wore little blue onesies and hats, hidden under the blankets.

It was already nearly half-way through September. The time had flown by so quickly that they could barely believe it. But even in that time, they hadn't discovered a way to tell one baby from the other. The best they could manage was different coloured pacifiers. Kiyoshi's was white, and Katsuo's blue.

They travelled to the ground floor in the elevator, which was quite quiet. Two other people were in there, giving them awkward looks, as if it somehow _wasn't _normal to see two teenagers with a stroller containing twins. The thought made them want to laugh.

Just a couple of minutes later, they were signing out of the hospital, hopefully for a while. Both of them were more than ready to see the outside world. Especially Orihime.

She stepped outside the doors with no hesitation, partly because the doors were automatic, and she was pushing the stroller. But in her eyes, there was nothing scary about venturing back out into Karakura Town.

Even if she'd only been able to see it through a window for the past month.

–

**At this rate, I may as well just promise to update every day! Haha...but if I do, I know it won't work out. I'll just keep overworking myself, for now at least. ;D**

**Soo! They're going home at last! Any guesses at more trouble occurring soon? Well, not yet! I think they've had enough problems to last for a while. **

**Writing this has been so weird! I've been using words that I've never even said before, like pacifier, crib and band aid! What the hell? Well, I figured that using them would cause less confusion...even though I still use the 'colour' thing. Sorry that I'm not American! I'm 100% English, and I apologize for that! Hehe~ ^^**

**Just like always, a review would be really nice!**

**~HellYus**


	12. Return

_Previously: They travelled to the ground floor in the elevator, which was quite quiet. Two other people were in there, giving them awkward looks, as if it somehow wasn't normal to see two teenagers with a stroller containing twins. The thought made them want to laugh._

_Just a couple of minutes later, they were signing out of the hospital, hopefully for a while. Both of them were more than ready to see the outside world. Especially Orihime._

_She stepped outside the doors with no hesitation, partly because the doors were automatic, and she was pushing the stroller. But in her eyes, there was nothing scary about venturing back out into Karakura Town._

_Even if she'd only been able to see it through a window for the past month._

_**No Regrets**_

Chapter 12: Return

Orihime was able to walk for a few metres, before she turned around.

"I know I promised I hadn't forgotten how to get back, but...could I have just the direction, please?" she asked guiltily. Ichigo laughed, and pointed. She nodded and carried on.

It wasn't a very long distance, she remembered that much. That was why she walked out so confident that she could get back without help.

Unlike the elevator situation, no amount of stares could change anything. She would walk home with the man she loved and their newborn twins. Who cared that they were eighteen years old?

The area around her started to get more and more familiar, as it should be. Sometimes she wanted to stop and just check quickly that she was still going in the right direction, but still, there was no worry. No matter what she had promised, Ichigo wouldn't let her lead them the wrong way without saying something. It was too cold to hang about outside.

"Are you sure you still know where you're going?"

"Yep," she grinned, turning around to him. For a while now he'd been behind her, but he had taken a turn at pushing the stroller for a little while. But he still felt like her happiness and welfare were the only things that mattered right then.

Ichigo knew that they were almost there, but he didn't mention it. Instead, her let her cry out happily when they turned the corner and saw the 'Kurosaki Clinic' sign.

"We're here, at last!"

They carried on to the front door, where she stopped. "So..."

"Don't tell me you're afraid."

Orihime shook her head, "Not afraid, just curious. Do you think, that when I step inside, I might finally start to feel like..."

"A mom?"

"Yes," her head now nodded, "a...mom."

He put his hand on her head, "I think you already know it, but you haven't fully admitted it to yourself. Even though you've pushed our twins in this stroller all the way here, it won't be real until you see the surprise."

"Surprise?"

Before she could ask any more, he stepped in front and pushed the door open. "We're home!"

She could see inside. Isshin was sat at the table, flicking through some papers. His head turned and he smiled up at them. Yuzu and Karin were on the sofa, just looking away from the TV to wave at them.

"Hi!" Yuzu greeted, jumping up and running over. Her sister followed in a slower pace.

Orihime looked around. She could see the front room through the slightly narrow and short hall. It was strange to be back, but she finally felt at home.

That was because she was.

"How are you, Orihime?" Isshin smiled, standing up and making his way over to them. The girls were leaning over the babies, waving and holding out their fingers for the infants to grab.

While Orihime had been in the hospital, the week following the birth, she'd had many visits from the twins. They adored their tiny nephews and would spend as much time as possible just playing and watching them, even if they were sleeping.

"I'm doing just fine," she answered, waving a hand, "and I'm definitely glad to be back here!"

"Well you'll be even happier when you see what's waiting for you!" Yuzu giggled. Karin nudged her and drew her attention back to Kiyoshi.

He was sleeping peacefully, while his brother was kicking his legs beside him. Katsuo was quite lively, compared to Kiyoshi. But everybody was glad to see some differences.

Now that they were a week old, their eyes were starting to change. Orihime had read that it took a little while for the eyes to change from blue to their true colour.

They were turning green.

It seemed a little weird that they ended up green. But they were told it was possible, in fact very likely with their mix of colours.

"So, are you ready for the surprise?" Ichigo asked.

Orihime pondered a little more over what this 'surprise' would be. They'd done a good job to keep it, because she'd first heard of it two weeks ago. And Yuzu was desperate to reveal it.

"That depends, will it make me cry?" she laughed.

Even though it had started to wear away, little things were still emotional enough to make her cry. "Maybe," Karin said.

"Oh no," she smiled, "I'd better get ready. Where is the surprise, then?"

"Upstairs!" Yuzu jumped up, looking at the staircase.

Ichigo pulled the door closed behind them, noticing that he'd forgotten. "Ichigo?" his father called him, "could you just come over here quickly before you go? I have something for you."

He cautiously looked over at him, wondering if it was safe. Though Isshin had actually been acting quite normal, it was probably only because the girls had forced him to be civil.

"Sure," he muttered, following him over to the kitchen. He handed him a letter, "You can thank me later."

"What is it?" Ichigo asked. He folded it open and tried to read the rows and rows of tiny text.

It was a custom acceptance letter to Jentouhanzu Medical School.

"I got in?" he read it again.

Isshin nodded, with a ridiculous grin. "Yes, and you wouldn't have done if it wasn't for me! You should be very thankful, because I had them make a few changes to the course to fit you in."

"What?"

"You don't have to start until January. Everybody else is starting in the next few days, but I explained your situation. It's all okay as long as you can catch up with what you missed in just a month."

Ichigo scowled, "How am I supposed to do that?"

"It's not too hard, I assure you."

Then he walked away before the next question came. Ichigo put the letter down and walked on back to the girls.

"Right then, are we going?"

Orihime pushed the stroller into some open space. "Sure, but I might not be prepared."

"Will you two watch them while we're up there?"

The twin girls nodded simultaneously. Ichigo took her hand and led her up.

"So could you tell me which room we're going to?"

"A previously spare room."

"Wh-?"

"We're here, take a look for yourself."

She stared at the door for a moment before she pushed it open. Then as soon as she saw the contents, it was hard to hold back the tears.

The room was painted white and warm yellow. She could see two white cribs with yellow bedding and a cabinet. It was full of diapers and other baby toiletries.

Orihime took one more step inside, viewing the room from every angle in one spot. "W-what is all of this?" she whispered.

"Yuzu's plan," Ichigo laughed.

In all of the time she'd been at the hospital, the thought about a room for the twins had completely slipped past her mind. She was half-expecting to go out and buy some cribs that day.

Despite her efforts, the tears made their appearance.

"Who should I hug?" she sobbed.

He pulled her into his arms and smiled as she cried into his shoulder. It took a while for her to will herself out to take another look at the beautiful room.

"So, you like it?"

"More than like!" she exclaimed, twirling in a circle before running around the room to observe the smaller features. It beat the hospital rooms by a lot.

She held her hands by the bottom of her face, with water still trickling down her cheeks. Her face felt very warm, and she wanted to run back into his embrace again.

Suddenly, Orihime noticed a chest of drawers. She went to take a look, "What's in here?"

"Something to start them off," he smiled.

Carefully, she pulled open the top drawer. It was the only one that was filled with content, tiny baby clothes. There were mainly babygrows, white or blue.

"Wow, that's so cute..." she whispered, holding up an outfit to stare in awe. Right away, she felt the urge to get dress up her newborns.

When she had that thought, it reminded her. She always felt uncomfortable when she was away from them, even if she knew where they were. They kept her calm and controlled.

"Yeah...you can thank Yuzu for those too..." he chuckled again.

Ichigo watched her stare back at the cribs. "...You're desperate to see them sleeping in there, aren't you?"

They'd never been in real cribs, only hospital cots. They now had a _home._

"I can wait a few hours yet, but I do want to see!" she giggled, her fingers tracing the wooden frame.

"...Could I just say something before we go back down to everyone?"

Orihime was a little baffled, he hadn't needed to ask. "What do you mean? Of course, you know that," her mouth curled into a smile.

"My dad gave me the news downstairs..." he said, leaving Orihime even more confused for a second with his pause, "I...got into Jentouhanzu Medical School."

Her face didn't change expression for about seven seconds. The adorable grin broke out eventually and she stepped forward and hugged him. "That's great!"

"Thanks," Ichigo held his hand at the back of her head, letting her cuddle into him. He kissed her forehead before she pulled back to release him.

"Why...did you hesitate?" she asked, a little concerned, but happy all the same.

He shrugged, "I guess I didn't know what you might think, I'm not sure about it myself. Apparently my dad got them to change the course, so I can be here with you until January."

"Oh, that's good! I was just wondering how that would work, when everything else is starting in just a few days."

She turned away, quietly sighing in relief. It stopped as his arms wrapped around her from behind, "I hope you didn't think I'd leave you alone to care for the twins by yourself, Hime," he laughed.

Her cheeks blushed. He always seemed to know what she was thinking, ...or maybe it was just obvious. "W-well..." she turned her head, "I...I can't help just thinking..."

"Sure," he kissed her cheek, now that he could reach it, "I know."

Ichigo pulled himself back again, ending their third embrace since entering the room.

Somebody started crying downstairs. "Oh!" Orihime gasped, "We'd better get back down there." Ichigo nodded and followed her lead, back to the stairs and down to the stroller.

Katsuo was wriggling around and wailing, his pacifier no longer in his mouth. Yuzu looked as if she was about to cry, Karin stood calm and relaxed. Isshin seemed to have left the room.

The parents rushed over to check what was going on, and reached a spot just a metre away from the stroller to see the end. Karin silently picked up the pacifier and put it back in his mouth.

"Don't worry," she smiled up at them. They blinked in confusion, was that really what all of the crying was about?

"Thank you!" Orihime said quickly, grinning at the younger girl. She watched as Karin shrugged it off and then look down at the baby.

"Hey, Karin?" Ichigo spoke, observing her as Hime did. She looked back up at him, "Yeah?"

"How would you like to hold your nephew?"

She blinked, nodded and laughed, all across ten seconds. "Sure!"

"Yuzu?" Orihime put her hand on the other girl's shoulder, using her other hand to gesture at Kiyoshi. She nodded excitedly.

They had held them before at the hospital, but only once. And they hadn't gotten much time with them.

Both of them ran and sat on the sofa, to hold them in a more comfortable position. Holding them while standing was a little awkward, they were heavier than they'd first thought.

Ichigo and Orihime collected a baby each from the stroller, pressing them up at their shoulders, holding the back of their heads with one hand. Neither of them took notice to the fact that they were both holding them in the exact same position.

There was a knock at the door. Ichigo passed Katsuo to Karin and went to the door, as Orihime passed Kiyoshi and sat next to Yuzu.

He swung the door open and observed the unexpected visitor. "Hi there!"

"Rangiku?"

"How's it going?" she winked, waving a hand.

Orihime peered around the corner, "Rangiku?"

"Hey, Hime!"

She got up and ran to the door, catching her friend's embrace. "What are you doing here?" she smiled.

The Shinigami pointed at her stomach, "I heard from Rukia that you had the twins last week!"

"Yes, yes," she laughed, sub-consciously leaning forward in hope that her upper-torso would shade the remainders of the bump, "they're here."

"Hey, I've seen you..."

Karin was stood a little way back from the door, still holding Katsuo. She was staring at Rangiku carefully, searching her memory.

"Hmm?" Rangiku looked over at her.

"Are...are you that 'subordinate' of Toshiro's?"

"Indeed I am!" she smiled, "And you're Ichigo's little sister, right? I remember you now! My captain really liked you!"

"W-what?" Karin blushed.

"Yep! He only said you were interesting, but I could see that he was always thinking about you," Rangiku stopped as she noticed Ichigo's scowl.

Then she saw the baby in Karin's arms, "Aww, this must be one of the twins, then!" she smiled, leaning forward to the baby.

Yuzu watched from her seat, a little curious about the blonde-haired woman. She wondered if she'd notice Kiyoshi sleeping on her lap.

"Oh, Orihime?"

"Mm?"

"I was wondering, what was that stuff you used to use? I don't remember exactly, was it red or green bean paste?"

She grinned, "Red, of course. Actually...how would you like me to make you something now? I got Ichi to buy me some for when I came back, I haven't been able to eat it for eight months!" she laughed.

Rangiku seemed to look excited.

"That would be great, Hime!"

–

Something seemed to be making her regret making that decision, now many hours ago. Orihime slumped back against the bedroom wall with a sigh.

She was exhausted. Completely exhausted.

Rangiku had stayed quite a while, trying to make the most of her day off. She had mentioned it being her last for quite a while, and it seemed necessary to take a trip to their world to see the new additions.

It was already eight. The day had flown by so quickly, she'd only just fully regained her consciousness.

Just a little earlier, she'd taken a shower and changed into some pyjamas. It was time for the twins to sleep.

Sometime after lunch, they'd tried putting them in their cribs, to let them get used to the room. Katsuo cried and Kiyoshi lay there quietly. It was always like that, the two seemed to be complete opposites, even though they were identical.

Ichigo had them downstairs, still in the stroller. They were probably drifting off already. Orihime grabbed her robe and went downstairs to bring them up.

"It's time for bed," she whispered, grinning as she crept into the dark room. The TV was the only source of light. Ichigo turned his head to look at her.

He got up and pushed the stroller halfway over to her, where she collected the sleepy-looking Katsuo.

Orihime started to make her way up as he pushed the stroller to some empty space, then picking up Kiyoshi, he followed her.

They walked slowly and quietly. Though it wasn't very late, everyone was tired from the busy day.

Isshin was out, and the only noises in the house excluding their footsteps were the quiet voices of Yuzu and Karin in their bedroom.

Her foot gently pushed open the door as she came to the Nursery room. Leaning over, she flicked on the light with a spare finger and walked further inside, to the cribs.

Katsuo looked like he was falling asleep. At last. He'd been lively all day, just kicking his legs around until he felt like stopping.

She lay his tiny body down on the soft cushioning and covered him with the blanket. A smile curved at the corners of her mouth as she confirmed her theory, that he wouldn't cry if he was tired. Carefully, she leaned down and kissed his head.

"Good night," she murmured.

Ichigo was right next to her, just laying Kiyoshi down as she turned to look at him. His eyes were still open, glistening in the moonlight from the window, and his chubby fingers wrapped around Ichigo's.

He smiled and pulled it out as his grip started to loosen. "'Night," he said quietly. His thumb traced the strands of soft hair on his head as he rubbed it gently.

Then he stepped back and looked over and back at Orihime, he grinned peacefully.

"I think I ought to be going to bed myself," she giggled in a low voice as they turned off the light, walked out and closed the door.

"Then we'd better get you there quickly, before you collapse!"

She smirked and turned around to him, gasping in surprise as he swept her up and carried her to their bedroom.

–

It was somewhere in between eleven and midnight, and the whole house was sleeping. Almost.

There was barely any noise, only faint sounds from the street outside and clocks ticking, maybe some water dripping.

Nobody with the right hearing capability was awake to look into that, though. Mostly everyone was quiet. For a few seconds after a sudden awakening, at least.

A cry echoed through half of the house, just about reaching the sleeping parents. The twins were stirring, probably hungry.

Their shrieking lasted about a minute before Orihime managed to pull herself up to sort them out. She sat up in the bed and threw her legs over the side.

Ichigo rolled onto his side next her, "...Need help?" he mumbled.

"Don't worry..." she yawned, "I've got it."

Orihime climbed to her feet and waddled away, not sure if she was heading the the right direction or not. The light was blinding her.

Right back in their bed, Ichigo rolled back onto his stomach, with half of his face buried in the pillow.

_So this is where it begins._

–

**Oh hey! It's been a while, right? **

**In case anybody was wondering, I did put an update on my profile about a break. I doubt anybody looks there, but it was the best I could do. The break was a little longer than I had planned anyway. I got a small case of writer's block. ^^'**

**Well I hope this chapter was satisfying enough. I'm sorry that it did take quite a while. I had to install OpenOffice anyways...cos' LibreOffice was being mean. .**

**In 8 hours, I'll be checking my emails. It will be Monday morning and I will be dreading another week of school. One thing that could make that a whole lot better would be a review~ Even if I get just one or two, it will make me happier than you can imagine. :)**

**~HellYus**


	13. Settling In

_Previously: A cry echoed through half of the house, just about reaching the sleeping parents. The twins were stirring, probably hungry. _

_Their shrieking lasted about a minute before Orihime managed to pull herself up to sort them out. She sat up in the bed and threw her legs over the side._

_Ichigo rolled onto his side next her, "...Need help?" he mumbled._

"_Don't worry..." she yawned, "I've got it."_

_Orihime climbed to her feet and waddled away, not sure if she was heading the the right direction or not. The light was blinding her._

_Right back in their bed, Ichigo rolled back onto his stomach, with half of his face buried in the pillow. _

_So this is where it begins._

_**No Regrets**_

Chapter 13: Settling In

"This isn't easy to get used to..." Orihime muttered to herself with a long yawn. She was walking very slowly out of the bathroom with Katsuo in her arms.

It was a little before six in the morning, and she'd had to get up for feeding. That was a concept that still seemed really weird.

There weren't many options, and seeing as she wasn't planning on working for a while, breast-feeding seemed liked a good way to go.

She doubted that Kiyoshi would need feeding for a while, so she left him for another hour after laying Katsuo down in the crib.

Any amount of sleep was better than nothing, in the past two weeks that she'd been back at the Kurosaki house, that was lesson number one.

Besides, the bags under her eyes had finally started to disappear.

In hope that she hadn't been up too long to struggle with falling asleep, she shuffled back to the bedroom and flopped lightly onto the bed.

Ichigo was still sleeping. He was buried in the thick sheets and blankets, so that all you could really see was half of his face and a large portion of is bright orange hair. That was hard to miss even in the dark.

She wrapped herself up and watched him, waiting to drift off herself. Every time she had the chance to watch, she would, because it was adorable in her opinion.

But then again, she thought that about many things with him. And she'd picked up a lot in all the years that she'd loved him.

It was difficult to remember what time it was when she actually ended up falling back to sleep.

–

Ichigo rolled off the bed and onto his feet. He had awoken a little while ago, but only just heard Kiyoshi's soft cries. Orihime was still asleep and hadn't heard him yet, so he decided to go and feed him.

There were always some bottles in the fridge, for cases like this. He went to get him and stomped down the stairs in a slightly lolled position.

Yuzu was already down there making breakfast. Though it was about then that he noticed the time, half past nine. He'd been asleep longer than he thought.

"Hey," he said as he trudged into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle that Orihime had left on the side.

"Good morning!" Yuzu greeted, smiling back at him and the baby.

He let Kiyoshi start and pulled out a chair at the table with his foot, then sat down to hold the baby more comfortably.

"Why are you up?" she asked.

"Feeding my son," he laughed. It always felt weird to say, but funny nonetheless.

"Right," she rolled her eyes, "but it's just strange that it's not Orihime feeding him. I thought she usually gets up for it."

Ichigo shook his head, "Well I decided to let her sleep a little longer this morning. I think she's been over-working herself with these guys. I kinda get the feeling that I don't help enough."

"Hmm?" she blinked, "That's not true, you're always taking care of them! Not much less than Orihime does. I think she really appreciates all of your help."

"Probably..."

Yuzu frowned, "You should pay more attention, Ichi."

"Huh?"

Without another word, she went back to her cooking with complete concentration. Well, she was just fine at multi-tasking, but she chose to act like breakfast was a big deal that morning.

He shrugged it off and looked back down at Kiyoshi. The bottle was almost empty.

The next time he checked, it was all gone. In that time he'd taken the baby back up the stairs and sat down in the white wicker chair that had been placed by the window.

Kiyoshi started to cry, quietly, as always after feeding. Ichigo lifted him up, back at his shoulder, and patted his back gently. He was never sure why, but there were few places where Kiyoshi would allow this.

It almost always had to be up at his shoulder, on this chair.

When he finished, he laid him back down in the crib and stuck in the pacifier. Only a minute later he fell asleep again.

Walking away, he got the same feeling as always. The twins had completely changed him, somehow. Rukia had been right in several aspects, just not at the right time.

Once, he could very well have been described as a punk, or whatever. Now, he was eighteen and had two sons, and he couldn't find a reason to complain about his life any more. He had all of his family with him now, including Orihime.

Ichigo yawned, stretched his long, muscular arms and journeyed back down the stairs. He sat back at the table and tapped the wood, waiting for an idea of what to do next, before Karin came shuffling downstairs.

"'Morning," he stuck up a hand in a one-second wave. She made a strange noise in return, and slumped down on the chair at the other end of the surface.

"Sleep well?" he smirked, not quite brave enough to laugh at her in this state. She could be dangerous during the morning. Karin nodded, but then shrugged. "I guess," she muttered. Her elbows came up over the table and folded where her head then collapsed.

That was probably the best conversation he'd get before Orihime woke up, he decided. Glancing at the clock hung on the wall, he shifted his seat and climbed up, making his way back up the stairs and into bed. He snook inside the room as quietly as possible, but his goal became pointless as soon as Orihime turned.

Relaxing his muscles only once he was safely wrapped up in the sheets, he winced and waited. "Good morning," murmured a gentle voice next to him. He looked over to find her smiling face aimed at him.

"Hey," the corners of his mouth curved and he rolled over to kiss her forehead. "How did you sleep?" he asked her, hoping that this could go a little further than the words with Karin had managed to stretch.

"Not too bad," she yawned a little, rubbing one of her eyes, "but when I got up for Katsuo, if you'd have asked me, I wouldn't have given the same answer." A laugh-sigh-giggle sort of noise escaped, this wasn't the first time she'd mentioned those valuable early morning hours to him.

–

"I-Ichigo, are you ready?" she called up the stairs to him.

Instinctively brushing off any speck of dust she could imagine from her rusty orange cardigan, black t-shirt, denim shorts and leggings, she paced about just a few metres. They could easily be late now, by perhaps a few minutes. That wouldn't do at all.

"I'm coming," her response echoed down the stairs as Ichigo appeared in a casual hooded jacket and jeans, with a twin slung on each shoulder. "Sorry, it's hard to get them both up at once..."

She gasped, "You c-could've called for me to fetch one!". Picking one of the chubby-bodied babies from his shoulder as he leaned forwards for her, she pulled him in and ran her fingers through his hair, swaying him. After she took a closer look, she recognised him as Kiyoshi, with his white pacifier.

"We should probably get going as quickly as possible, though it wouldn't be the first time we've forgotten about an appointment and showed up late."

Both of the babies were fastened into the stroller and they shuffled away to the clinic. Not the Kurosaki clinic, no. The young parents had decided to regularly take the twins to Dr. Itsuki, every month or so. Isshin was probably busy, Orihime thought, and should only be consulted for medical reasons in times of emergency.

It was December third already, exactly three months after their birth. Both of the twins seemed to have caught a slight cold, probably due to the freezing weather, but their trip was partly just to check up on it.

Katsuo seemed a lot worse, but he was quite dramatic and loved any kind of attention, so they weren't really sure what to think. At least it wasn't exactly likely that a three-month old would pretend to be sick.

He might just be that kind of kid, Ichigo would think to himself.

The family arrived at the clinic a while later, and found they were a little late. However, yet again, Dr. Itsuki's schedule was a little behind. They went through to him as soon as they walked through the doors.

"So, how has everything been?" the doctor asked, flicking through a pile of papers.

"All good, really. They've been fine, except for a little cold. Sometimes they get a little warm too...I did wonder if you could check them, to see that they're okay?" Orihime smiled.

"Ah, I'm sure it's just the weather, but yes, I'll look them over. Who's first?"

Ichigo unfastened Katsuo and lifted him up and onto the medical bed. The doctor did a normal check up exam and reported back with the usual smile. "He's looking good, except the cold. That should clear up in a few days. I expect it will return again before we see the end of Winter, but it's nothing to worry about. If anything changes should it come up again and you're worried, come and have him checked again."

Orihime nodded and placed him back in the stroller. He wriggled about, frustrated that his spotlight was about to be taken. Kiyoshi was lifted up for an examination, with Dr. Itsuki performed very silently.

He checked over and over again. Eventually he looked back to the concerned parents and said, "It seems okay, but he's not quite the same as Katsuo here. Something doesn't seem quite right, but I can't detect anything right now. Perhaps you should watch over him carefully and call me if anything happens."

They nodded, "...Do you know what might be the problem?"

"No, I'm not sure. A cold or cough like that could mean many things, so we just need to wait for stronger or more symptoms before we find the problem. Right now it could just be a mild chest infection, but if I can't determine it exactly then it could easily pass overnight. Try not to worry too much and just let me know if anything else comes up, okay?"

"Right," Orihime whispered.

Ichigo picked up Kiyoshi and gently rocked him and Orihime organized the next doctors appointment. The baby's face was so content and peaceful, it didn't seem like there could be anything wrong at all.

As they were walking back home, Orihime was completely silent. Ichigo watched her as she pushed the stroller along, at her request. He could see she was upset. For a moment he wasn't sure if asking her would make it worse, but he eventually forced out a question.

"Orihime...are you...okay?".

He mentally slapped himself. _Well that sounded stupid._

She turned her head up to him, and nodded. The shaking of her head drew tears from the pools in her eyes which he'd hardly noticed, to her cheeks. Once her head had stopped, he could see them running down her face.

Her mouth curved into a frown, but she still whispered, "Yes..."

Ichigo looked at her face with concern, "I can see that you're not, tell me what's wrong." His arm came up around her shoulder and she fell into comfort at his chest. The tears continued to stream from her eyes.

"I..." she whispered, "I hope I didn't do anything wrong..."

"...What?" he inquired, urging her to speak to him through sniffling. He held on to her tightly as she cried into his chest.

"I don't want the fact that I'm too young to be a mother to cause any problems...I want Kiyoshi to be okay..." she said. They stopped walking and she stepped away from Ichigo, in order to stop getting her tears all over him, and she softly cried at the ground.

Ichigo took her face in his hands, lifted her sad, glistening eyes up to him and kissed her. Her arms dropped, and she was captivated. When their lips parted, they wrapped their arms around each other.

"You haven't done anything wrong. I can't stand the thought of there being a problem with Kiyoshi, but we can't sit around expecting it to come up, or else it's bound to happen," he murmured into her ear.

Still, Orihime cried against her will. "I know, I k-know that I have everything I want and need, and I have everybody I love all around me. But still...just the thought of...of _anything_ happening to them, it makes me feel alone...I can't be alone again...I can't..."

Ichigo rested his chin of her shoulder, his sight directed upwards. He watched a snowflake fall through the air, the first one he'd seen since Winter began. "You never have to be alone ever again, you'll always have me..." he said to her, "I'm never going to leave you..."

She sniffled and tried to thank him, but her throat refused her request to let any real words escape her lips.

"Orihime..." he said, watching multitudes of white flakes fall around them in the darkened daylight, "let's get married. That can be the start of our forever," he said calmly, with no question in his voice.

Her grip on his coat tightened, and her tears began to flow quicker. Orihime's head nodded slowly, giving her answer before she managed to choke out, "Yes."

–

Time had continued to pass by rapidly. It was now the seventeenth of December. The twins weren't too far from four months old.

Orihime had been watching Kiyoshi, and nothing had come up yet. She was beginning to feel safe again, like what the doctor thought had been wrong. What could possibly happen, anyway? They were both thoroughly checked at birth, and she was sure she'd notice if anything came up within four months. Surely nothing serious could happen in that time?

Reaching mid-December meant Christmas would be arising soon. It had been almost forgotten under the stress of taking care of the twins. So, on a Saturday, Katsuo and Kiyoshi were left with Yuzu and Karin, as Ichigo and Orihime went shopping.

They walked, hand in hand, through the shopping centre. It was snowing outside. In fact, it had basically snowed ever since the day they took the twins to the doctor. Orihime was now wearing a simple golden engagement ring.

She'd mentioned that she didn't want anything special. Ichigo wanted to get her one just like anybody else would have. But she told him again when he asked that a ring wasn't even necessary. He eventually got her to settle for the thin gold band with the small diamond at the top.

"So..." he started as they walked through, "I have no clue what we could actually get for gifts, do you have any ideas?" he smirked. Orihime smiled at him.

"Not really. I mean, I was thinking that we could get Kiyoshi and Katsuo some clothes and toys. I guess that would be fine for them, right? That's the easy part though. Do you know what Yuzu, Karin, and Isshin would like?".

He returned her smile, "No...I have no idea," he shrugged. They decided to walk along until they found a shop that looked like it would be good for somebody's gift. By noon, they had two bags of baby clothes, a bag containing plastic train toys for the twins, a silk yukata for Rukia, a pair of goggles for Renji, a cap and a new soccer ball for Karin and then two dresses for Yuzu.

Both of them were pleased with what they'd found as they sat down in a caf_é for lunch. "So, we still have to buy gifts for Tatsuki, Isshin, Sado, Uryu...and...wh-what are you laughing at?"_

_Ichigo chuckled to himself as she spoke, "Nothing, nothing."_

_She stared at him. He broke into laughter. "Really, what is it?" her lips broke into a grin._

_"You."_

_"Me?"_

_"Yup."_

_"Why?"_

_"I don't know, you're funny."_

_Orihime blinked in confusion, unable to understand what he was doing at all. "I was just saying...who we we have to-"_

_His lips were on hers, her eyes fluttered closed, and his presence moved back to where he sat beside her on the bench before anybody around them could see him._

_"Wh-wh..."_

_"I love you," he smiled again._

_"...I-I love you, too, but...what..."_

_His arm curled around her and she was pulled into his chest. Instead of continuing with her quest to figure out what he found so funny, she sat there, fully content by his side._

_She knew that nowhere else could make her as happy._

_–_

_**Surprise!**_

_**Finally, I got an idea to finish the chapter. I really hate to think how long it's been waiting here for me to complete...and how long somebody might have been waiting for me to update. Whoever you are, if you're real or not, I'm sorry.**_

_**Uhh, I'm not sure when I can update again. Hopefully as soon as I can...but I'm kinda down right now. My rabbit died a few hours ago...but then, I'm getting my first ever puppy tomorrow. That's gonna take up some of my time...but I'll still try to write as much as possible.**_

_**I'm sorry about mistakes, I'm checked over twice but I'm too tired to see much. I swore to myself that I would finish and upload this today so here we go...**_

_**Hope you like~**_

_**Review, por favor! It will really make my day, and every review makes me want to update, seriously! Feedback builds up my motivation, very quickly! You may even see an update in a week if I get something! Please!**_

_**~HellYus**_


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